Simple and Clean
by DragonNeko383
Summary: With the arrival of a cousin's exboyfriend, a romance, an uberstar designer and some confusing new feelings, Kagome Higurashi's life is anything but Simple and Clean AU KagIY SanMi Rated for some language & themes
1. The SilverHaired HeartBreaker

Hey you guys! I've just started this new story. The idea came to me while I was listening to the Utada Hikaru song, 'Simple and Clean'©. The quote out of the song that really got me inspired was:

"When you walk away,

You don't hear me say,

Please,

Don't leave me,

Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight"

It's pretty much explaining the whole Kikyo/Inu Yasha thing. It would be Inu Yasha saying it though, not Kikyo. It doesn't fit perfectly with the plot, but hey, inspiration is inspiration! Enjoy:

Chapter 1

The Silver-Haired Heart-Breaker

Kagome's hand slapped painfully down on the alarm clock sitting on her bedside table. _Why'd Mom set my alarm clock? WHY?!?! _She thought groggily, _It's vacation, for Kami's sake!_ Kagome pouted for a moment. Now she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep!

Kagome slipped into her fuzzy blue slippers and trudged down into the living room to watch television. Flopping down on the couch, she grabbed the remote and clicked the 'on' button. A news announcer's fake-happy voice came on.

"...partly cloudy with a high of about 76 degrees. Back to you Yuki-san" Another, higher pitched voice started talking, "Thanks Oni-san. Today is the first day of school for kids across the nation. Summer vacation is finally over."

Kagome let the words sink in around her. _What was that woman talking about? First day of school?_ Then Kagome realized exactly why her mother had set the alarm clock: because today was the first day of her second year at the slave drive (otherwise known as High School) she attended.

"OMIGOD!" She screeched, flinging herself up the stairs to get dressed. If she was late on her first day it would not be good. Luckily her mother had laid out her uniform and packed her backpack the night before. All she had to say was: Thank Kami for mothers.

In a mad flurry of clothes and make-up, Kagome managed to come out looking flustered, but none the less okay for school. Running down the stairs she called a hurried goodbye to her mother, grabbed a piece of burnt toast and bowled out the front door.

Pedaling her bike furiously, she checked her watch. Eight O'clock. If she hurried she could get there right in time for the bell at eight fifteen. Kagome willed her bike to go faster. Sooner than she expected, her school came into view.

Kagome walked quickly over to the bike rack and locked up her bike. Then she ran over to find her friends in the crowd of sleepy looking high schoolers. As soon as she reached the crowd, the bell rang and she was swept away towards the general direction of the main doors.

She dug a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket. It was her schedule. In the slot for first period it said:

-Period 1-Houchin-ART-132-

_Hmm, 132... that's on the first floor, right wing, _she thought to herself. She had lucked out, room 132, one of the three art rooms, was the only one located on the first floor.

Kagome scanned the room numbers until she came across room 132. Taking a deep breath she walked into the room. She took a seat in the front so it would be easy to see any examples the teacher would show.

She looked around, hoping that another one of her friends had the same class as her. They apparently did not. Ironically, Hojo, who kept trying to ask her out, did. _This is going to be a long year, _she thought.

As Kagome was settling into her desk and pulling out her brand spanking new binder (Thank you Mom!) a whiz of white and red barely missed her nose. She looked up, startled. A boy with white/silver hair, animal ears and a baggy red sweatshirt had plopped down into the desk next to her. __

_The ears are probably just a joke... _she thought. If they _were _real, which _was _possible, she knew he'd be the center of attention the rest of the school year. Who wouldn't be attracted to a demon? They were faster, smarted and more good looking than humans, and they always had the gall to rub it in your face. She grimaced.

The teacher looked up startled. Oddly, he didn't look a thing like Mr. Houchin. Had they messed up her schedule? Was she in the wrong class? Panicking she looked at her schedule. But it said she was in room 132!

"Hello everyone! You're probably wondering why the teacher who usually teaches this class has become thirty years younger. Actually, Mr. Houchin will be back in two months. He's decided to extend his stay in China." The man was smiling widely at everyone. _Well someone's cheerful today_... Kagome thought grumpily.

"My name is Mr. Miroku, but please call me Mr. M. I'm going to be your substitute for the next two months, or maybe longer..." Mr. M had black, mid-neck length hair which he tied up into a small ponytail. He was in his early-twenties at the latest. _Do they even let twenty year olds teach school? He's hardly older than the seniors, what a joke!_ Kagome smiled.

Mr. M was apparently still talking. "Oh, Mr. Inuyasha, please try to make it _before _the tardy bell rings tomorrow; _and_ in your school uniform." The boy next to Kagome looked up from his desk. He shrugged with a mischievous smile on his handsome face. "Yeah, sure Mr. M."

Inuyasha? Where had she heard that name before? He was obviously new to the school... and yet he seemed so familiar! _Wait a second-could this be the_ _same Inuyasha? _How many Inu Yasha's were there in one fricking town? She'd have to call up her cousin Kikyo, she'd tell her.

Kagome surveyed what Inuyasha had been doing before Mr. M had interrupted him. It was a carving. It read: _Kikyo Inuyasha 4 ever_. This had to be the same guy... it had to be! God, he still wasn't over her yet? What a loser. It was his fault anyways.

Kagome walked out into the sun of the courtyard where she ate lunch with her friends last year. Fourth period had just ended and she was thinking of other things besides what was in front of her. Before she knew it, books, pencils and a few stray papers were raining down on her head.

"Omigod! I'm so sorry!" Kagome looked up. A girl around seventeen was standing over her (Kagome was currently on the ground) with her hand over her mouth and a shocked expression on her face. She had long black hair which was kept in a messy, loose ponytail. At the moment her bangs were covering her face as she bent to help Kagome pick up her fallen binder.

Kagome shook her head. "No, no, it was my fault! I wasn't watching where I was going." Kagome smiled at the flustered girl, "Don't worry about it." She added. The girl obviously looked relieved as she handed back Kagome's English book.

"I'm Sango, by the way." She told Kagome, a lot more relaxed than a few seconds before. She adjusted her binder under her arm and repositioned her overly-stuffed purse on her shoulder. "I'm new here, are you?"

"Nope, I came here last year." Kagome told her, "Wanna come sit with my friends and me?" Sango looked even more grateful than ever. She nodded her head vigorously, "That would be great!" Kagome's smile broadened, Sango obviously had no friends, at this school anyways, and she was happy to help out.

Kagome led Sango over to a large cherry tree. It was where she and her friends usually sat last year. Sure enough, not long after she and Sango showed up, so did they. She introduced each everyone to Sango and they settled down to enjoy their lunches.

Kagome laughed inwardly when she heard a couple of her friends drooling over "the silver haired hottie with amber eyes and dog ears". Ha! If only they knew who Inuyasha really was... they certainly wouldn't be calling him 'the silver haired hottie' that's for sure! Sango was laughing too.

Kagome nudged her and then did an impression of one of her lovesick friends. Sango couldn't hold it in anymore. They both burst out laughing. Kagome's friends looked at her oddly and then went back drooling.

Kagome rode her bike home that day with her mind on a certain someone who happened to be in every single one of her classes. Luckily it hadn't turned out to be Hojo... but why did it have to be Inuyasha? She'd heard enough about him to know he was bad news.

As soon as she reached her house she ditched her bike near the well in the shrine. She ran up to her room and plopped down onto her bed. Grabbing her portable phone she rolled over onto her back and dialed in a few numbers.

"Hello? This is Kikyo." Kikyo's voice echoed over the receiver. Kagome smiled at the sound of her cousin's voice.

"Hey Keeks, it's Kagome!" Kagome heard an audible sigh coming from Kikyo. Kagome knew Kikyo hated being called "Keeks", yet it was so much fun to annoy her!

"What's up?" Kikyo asked her curiously. Kagome usually didn't even talk to Kikyo, unless it was to get the answers to her math homework, which she was horrible at. Somehow her genes decided that she would not inherit the "learns math quickly" gene, for whatever reason.

"I just wanted to ask you why exactly your ex-boyfriend moved to my school. And also why he's in all my classes, but is old enough to be a senior." Kagome breathed out. She waited, frightened that Kikyo might start screaming, or worse-crying-because she had brought up Inuyasha.

There was a pregnant silence between the two girls. Kikyo took a deep breath and started talking in a harsh voice that was not her own. "Inuyasha," she forced out the cursed words, "Moved because he got expelled," She said blankly, "And he's your age, he just seems older. I gotta go, bye." There was a beep and Kagome sighed.

Inuyasha was her age? This was getting really weird. Kikyo rarely dated younger men... it was just something she didn't do. And what did she mean he got expelled? Did he do something really bad this time?

FLASHBACK

_Kikyo was crying even harder now, and could hardly say anything if not for trying. Kagome patted her on the back but there was really nothing she could do other than that to comfort her; she didn't even know what Kikyo was crying about._

_She tried asking her what happened again. "Come on Keeks, what's the matter? Did you fail your final exams or something?" Kagome tried fruitlessly; this just made Kikyo cry even harder. Eventually Kagome got the full story out of her. _

_Kikyo's word were punctuated with little sobs, "H-h-he's ch-cheating on me!" She stammered pathetically. Kagome knew exactly who "he" was; her boyfriend, Inuyasha._

_"How do you know?" Kagome asked, trying to get the whole story out of the devastated teenager in her arms. Kikyo looked up at Kagome, her cheeks lined with tears, which somehow managed to make her look even prettier._

_"N-n-naraku told me!" Kagome remembered Naraku. He was one of Kikyo's friends. They had met at the hospital when Kikyo was doing her required community service hours for school. They became friends and Kikyo visited him every day at the hospital. Besides Inuyasha, Naraku was Kikyo's best friend. _

_"Oh. Well he was a jerk anyways." Kagome said thoughtfully. Kikyo shook her head and cried, "No-no, he wasn't!" Kagome shook her head and hugged her cousin, "Sure, whatever you say Kikyo"_

END OF FLASHBACK

Kagome realized a single tear was leading its way down her cheek. Kagome hated to remember that day. It had been so horrible to see her strong cousin break down sobbing. It took Kikyo weeks just to stop crying. That was a year ago and still she had never fully gotten over Inuyasha.

Kikyo had dated him for a year or two, and they were pretty serious. Kagome had always thought they were so close. She would have never expected Inuyasha to do what he did. He was so attached to her, how could it have even happened?

So-o-o, hoped everyone liked the first installment of my first fanfic!! It should get more interesting as the story progresses so stick with me! Oh yeah, here's a little ditty, just in case you need a gentle push in the direction of the 'review' button:

I love reviews

All authors do,

To keep me motivated,

You know what to do!


	2. A Jewel and Van Gough's Sunflowers

Chapter 2

A Jewel and Van Gough's Sunflowers

Kagome woke to her mother shaking her gently. Her eyes edged open slightly. She grumbled and turned over, pulling the covers over her head, "It's Saturday Mom, leave me 'lone!" Mrs. Higurashi shook her head.

"Kagome, Sango is going to be here in fifteen minutes!" Kagome frowned and then her eyes widened. "Oh no!" She sprinted to the bathroom, grabbing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt on her way.

Mrs. Higurashi smiled and smoothed out Kagome's sheets. The girl could be heard frantically trying to brush out her mane of black hair. The doorbell rang just as Kagome ran out of the bathroom, pulling on one leg of her pants.

"She's here!" Tripping down the stairs Kagome ran to the front door. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she opened the door to let Sango in. Except it wasn't Sango-it was Hojo. Kagome's jaw dropped.

"H-h-hojo!" She managed to stutter, trying not to look too shocked that the guy that kept trying to ask her out had appeared on her doorstep. Hojo looked as shocked as she did. "Kagome! I didn't know you lived here!" He paused, "Is this a bad time?" He asked, concerned.

Kagome shook her head, regaining her composure. "No, it's fine. Please, come in." Kagome looked at him questioningly, "So, why _are _you here?" She asked.

"Well I'm going to work in the store on your shrine. I guess I was hired by your grandfather." Hojo smiled broadly, "That means we can see each other all the time now!" Kagome tried to hide her shudder. Obviously, she didn't do it very well because Hojo got a worried expression on his face, "Are you sick Kagome?"

"No, really, I'm fine Hojo. I'll go get Grandpa." Kagome ran out to the shrine's shop, where her grandfather was rearranging a display of something that looked oddly like human hair.

"Err, Grandpa?" He looked up, waving jollily at Kagome. "Your new employee is here to see you." Her Grandpa looked delighted. "Fabulous! Tell him to come here right away. He can start today."

Kagome looked more closely at the hair that was on display. It looked oddly like her hair. "Grandpa," She said, "What is this?" She picked up a chunk of the hair and smelled it. It smelled _really _familiar.

"Oh, that-it's...it's...ummmm, Youkai hair." He said, smiling guiltily. Kagome looked at him fiercely, "Grandpa! This is _my _hair!" The old man laughed nervously, "Yes, but it _is _very convincing!" Kagome sighed, and shook her head at her grandfather.

Kagome made her way back to the house where Hojo was waiting vigilantly. Kagome motioned to her grandfather's shop, "He says you can start today." She said. Hojo missed her scornful tone of voice. He was all smiles as he made his way towards the shop, "Thanks Kagome! See you later!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. Sometimes her grandfather was such a pain! Seriously, employing her stalker? What did she do to deserve _that_?

Sango arrived soon after Hojo left. It was a nice relief to have her around. She and Kagome rode their bikes down to the lake. It was a nice day. They sat back against a little hill and ate their lunch that consisted of instant ramen and chips.

Kagome sighed happily, watching the reflection of a lone cloud float across the peaceful surface of the lake. Sango smiled, licking the salt from a chip off her fingers, "It's so peaceful here!" Kagome nodded.

"So, are you all done with your math homework?" Sango asked Kagome. Kagome nodded happily, "I finished it early so you could come over." Kagome hated math, but her mother insisted that she had to do her homework before anything else.

"It's so funny; all of the girls at school have a crush on that new kid, Inuyasha." Sango laughed, oblivious to the fact that Kagome had gone rigid at the sound of the boy's name. "I bet he made up his own name. I mean, what parent would name their child 'Dog Demon'?" Sango laughed.

She noticed that Kagome wasn't laughing with her. "Don't tell me you _like _Inuyasha?" Kagome shook her head, her face held a troubled expression. Sango looked at her curiously.

"What's the matter?" Kagome pondered over to tell Sango about Kikyo and Inuyasha. Kagome decided that it was safe to tell Sango. She trusted her. Anyways, it would be nice to be able to talk to about it without them bursting into tears. Kagome watched the lone cloud; it was now in the center of the lake.

"Sango, do you promise not to tell anyone if I tell you?" Kagome asked, realizing she sounded like an eight year old. Sango nodded, looking worried, "What is it?"

"Well-there's more to Inuyasha than you think." She paused; looking at Sango's perplexed face, "He used to go out with my cousin, and, well-I guess you could say they were in love."

Sango looked relieved, "That's it? That's not so bad!" She said happily. Her face fell as she looked at Kagome's own face, "There's more?" Sango asked. Kagome sighed unhappily.

"See, Kikyo, my cousin, thought that he was cheating on her-she dumped him. It was so horrible!" Sango patted Kagome's knee comfortingly, "It's not that bad Kagome, he's probably a big jerk; Kikyo did the right thing."

Kagome nodded absently. Was Inuyasha really a jerk? She had never met the guy, she'd only seen him from a distance, but he seemed to be still in love with Kikyo. But Kikyo had moved on... Kagome realized she felt sorry for Inuyasha. He might not have even cheated on her in the first place!

"Hey, let's go for a swim!" Sango suggested brightly, trying to get Kagome's mind off the whole Kikyo and Inuyasha thing. Kagome looked up at her gratefully, "Good idea! It'll be so much fun!"

The two girls stripped down to their bathing suits and plunged into the clean, cool water. Laughing and splashing at one another, they both fell over, hitting the water with twin splatters. They broke the surface at the same time and giggled even more until they could barely breathe because they were doubled over in silent laughter.

Kagome spotted a flash of white and red underwater. She squinted her eyes, trying to see better under the water. Suddenly she was pulled underwater. Strong arms wrapped around her shoulders. Then she was pushed up. She broke the surface of the water gasping for breath.

"What _was _that?" She asked breathlessly. Sango looked at her curiously, "What was what?"

"Uh, there was something in the water and it pulled me under!" Sango smiled and splashed at Kagome playfully, "Maybe it's the spirit of the lake!" Sango said, laughing, "She's mad at you because you stole her necklace!"

Kagome raised her eyebrow, "What necklace?" She asked, confused. Sango looked at her confused also, "The necklace you have around your neck silly!" Kagome frowned, her friend was obviously seeing thing too... maybe it was the ramen; it _did _taste a little stale

"Sango, I don't wear a neck-" Kagome froze. Around her neck was a large, perfectly round crystal. It was shaded slightly pink, and it had an unearthly glow to it. Kagome's jaw dropped. How had this jewel gotten around her neck?

She decided to act as though she had found it. "Oh, this? I saw it at the bottom of the lake. A tourist probably dropped it." Sango nodded. Her teeth were chattering.

"I'm cold, let's get out." She suggested. Kagome nodded gratefully, "I agree, anyways, it's getting dark." It was indeed getting dark. By the time the girls had dried off and gotten dressed again, the sun had almost set.

They hurried over to Kagome's house on their bicycles. They tromped up to Kagome's room to dry their hair. While Sango was changing into a fresh pair of clothes, Kagome examined the strange jewel.

It fit nicely in the center of her palm and glowed with an inner light that seemed almost unnatural. How had this jewel gotten onto her neck? Was it the strange force that had pulled her under the water? What _had _that been anyways?

The weekend was finally over, much to Kagome's disappointment. She was hardly into her second week of school and she was already dreading it. It wasn't the subjects that she hated; she had pretty nice teachers, it was Inuyasha.

She was constantly hoping that he wouldn't notice her. She knew that if he did, and if he brought up Kikyo, she might break down. It was enough stress that he was in all of her classes.

She was thinking these things in her first period art class while Mr. M was showing the daily painting. She had zoned out and didn't realize that Mr. M was talking to her.

"Ms. Higurashi? Are we awake?" Kagome looked up at him, and realizing that the whole class had their eyes on her, she smiled guiltily and asked, "Um, what was the question again?" Kagome tried to sink down as low as she could into her chair.

"Who do you think painted this particular piece of art?" Mr. M asked kindly, smiling. Kagome looked at him blankly. She had a heavy feeling in her stomach and she knew that her cheeks were turning red.

A voice to her right whispered so that only she could hear, "It's Van Gough." Kagome let out a little 'oh' and then looked up at the young teacher uncertainly and then at the painting. It was a picture of sunflowers.

"Err, Van Gough?" She said, hoping that whoever had given her the answer wasn't just playing a mean trick. Mr. M smiled, "At least your friend pays attention in class. Next time, Ms. Higurashi, I hope you will be a little more attentive in class." Mr. M's voice was gentle; he wasn't upset with her-just amused.

Kagome heaved a big sigh of relief as Mr. M started to introduce the project of the week. She turned to the nice person who supplied her with the answer. The person she was now looking at was the last person that she _ever _expected to do what he did. It was Inuyasha.

"T-t-thank you?" Kagome forced out. She was shell shocked. Why had he done this for her? Did he even realize who she was? She noticed he was smiling.

"No problem, next time, you _should _pay attention though." He informed her. It didn't seem as though he realized who she was... But maybe he did? Now she was really confused. She just nodded her head, and slowly turned to face forward again.

Inuyasha caught up with Kagome in between second and third period. He asked to walk with her to class. What could she say? Of course she had to accept the offer. Anyways what would she have told him instead? 'Oh, sorry Inuyasha, I don't want to because you broke up with my cousin and she hates you now, and so do I... or maybe I don't.

"I'm Inuyasha; I couldn't help noticing that you're in all my classes." He told her. Kagome kept her eyes on the floor. "I know who you are." She said bluntly, not caring if she was rude. She had let him walk her to class, but that didn't mean that she had to be nice to him.

Inuyasha seemed shocked, "You know me?" He asked, surprised. Kagome looked up at him, trying hard to keep the rage out of her eyes, "Not personally, but my cousin does. You might remember her-her name's Kikyo."

Kagome sped up, hoping Inuyasha wouldn't bother her anymore. She needn't have worried though, Inuyasha had froze the moment she had uttered Kikyo's name. Inu Yasha wasn't there the rest of that day, nor the next, or the next after that. Frankly, Kagome really didn't care.

Aww, poor Inuyasha! I think Kagome was a little harsh on the poor guy... oh well, maybe she didn't get much sleep that day... either that or she was PMS-ing... either one... Okay, well, I hope you like it! Much more coming your way hopefully real soon! Also, thanks a helluva lot to Shesshy-Slipperz/S.Wooz who reviewed and put this story on her favorites!!! You rock! Thanks also for the advice about the story, If I can fit it in, I'll try to make sure to mention that it's an Alternate Universe fic in my summary, I might not be able to though, because I had a hard time fitting all of the actual summary in by itself (I talk too much...) By the way, to other readers, I LOVE reviews!!! wink... yeah, I said in my story that Inuyasha means dog demon. It can also mean female dog. I've also heard that 'yasha' can stand for forest spirit... either way, so don't kill me that I used one way instead of the other, k?


	3. 1442 Fukai Drive

Hello People!!!! I want to send a shout out to kikiumetime who put me on her 'Author Watch' list!!! YAY!!!! Okay, back to the story :

Chapter 3

1442 Fukai Drive

Sadly, Kagome realized that what she did to Inuyasha had been wrong. Yet how could she have just ignored what he did to Kikyo? Was Kikyo and Inuyasha's relationship even her problem?

Sango had shared her basic opinions on Inuyasha: a vain player with the brain of a caterpillar who enjoyed cheating on his girlfriend who loved him. But Sango objected to the way that Kagome had reacted when she had her hallway conversation with Inuyasha.

"But Kagome," She said worriedly, "The poor guys obviously not over Kikyo yet... maybe you _should_ cut him some slack." Kagome folded her arms across her chest stubbornly and in a tone not unlike a five year old, asked, "Why should I? He deserved it."

Kagome knew she had been wrong to say something that mean to him, but admitting to Sango that she was wrong would just be embarrassing. Kagome flopped down on her bed next to Sango. "I don't think we'll have to worry about Inuyasha anymore. I probably made him run away crying-what a baby."

Sango sighed, shaking her head knowingly, "Whatever you say Kagome. Put yourself in Inuyasha's shoes for once." Heaving a big sigh, Sango lifted herself off Kagome's comfortable bed and onto her feet. "I have homework to do, see you tomorrow?" Kagome nodded, dazed. She was thinking about what Sango had said, _'Put yourself in Inuyasha's shoes...'_

Kagome took Sango's advice very seriously and she gave it some thought. What would it have been like to have someone tell you that they were your ex's cousin, knowing that they were in all of you classes? All Kagome had to say was: painful!

Flopping onto her bed, Kagome grabbed at the student directory that she had received in the mail. She decided it might make Inuyasha, as well as herself, feel a lot better if she just called him up and apologized.

Kagome realized that Kikyo had never actually mentioned Inuyasha's last name. _Great, just great! _She thought, frustrated. What was she going to do now? There were at least two-thousand kids at her school; it was going to be pretty hard to search through by first name. There was no other way though: Kikyo wouldn't be too happy if she called her up again, this time to ask her her ex-boyfriend's last name!

She sighed as she started scanning over the pages. It took her a while, but finally, after about a half an hour, she found his name under the 'Y' section. Laughing to herself, she realized that the person who had written the directory hadn't realized that 'yasha' was part of his first name!

Her stomach dropped as she realized that there was no phone number underneath the name, only an address. It read:

1442 Fukai Drive

That was it. No area code, city name or even a measly email address. Just that one line.

The teenager sighed inwardly. Now she would have to get off her lazy bum, and pedal her way, probably across town, to do the only thing she could do. Visit Inuyasha.

Dark clouds were gathering as Kagome made her way across town (told ya so). She looked up at the foreboding sky and scowled. Just her luck, it was probably going to start raining soon. It would be pretty embarrassing to turn up on Inuyasha's doorstep looking like a wet cat.

Unfolding the map from under her parka she looked at it again. Two more blocks. Looking around for the street sign that branched off from Fukai Drive she realized how dark this side of town was. Soon the houses began to seem older, more decrepit. _I really hope Inuyasha doesn't live in a cardboard box or something_she thought to herself. If this was how the houses looked two blocks down might be just some gopher infested yard with a garden shed.

Luckily, Inuyasha's house turned out to be an actual _house_. Though the shingles were missing in some places and one or two of the windows were boarded up, at least it wasn't one of those boxes that new refrigerators come in, that's for sure!

Ditching her bike on the front porch, Kagome took a deep breath and rang the sun bleached, plastic doorbell. It didn't work, so Kagome knocked lightly on the door, half-hoping that no one opened it so she didn't have to go through such an embarrassing endeavor.

Inuyasha opened the door. He looked curiously at her at first, as though he knew her, but couldn't place her face because she wasn't in her school uniform. Then, his face changed as the realization of who she was all came streaming back to him.

"Err, hi?" Kagome said, smiling apologetically. Inuyasha wrinkled his brow, apparently confused. "What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice seemed a little annoyed and Kagome began to regret even coming.

"Well-err-you see-I-um" She stuttered, trying to find the right words to explain why she, the girl who totally blew him off, had appeared a week later on his doorstep. Kagome wrung her hands out.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is-" Inuyasha was staring at her neck oddly now, and Kagome stopped talking to stare at his face. He had a surprised and quizzical look on his face. "Where did you get that?" He asked, pointing to the jewel. Kagome looked down at the bobble around her neck, the magenta of its inner glow contrasting with her green sweatshirt.

"I found it at the lake. Not that it's any of your business." She said, regaining the little composure she had left. Kagome noticed a little glint in Inuyasha's eyes, as if a fire that had been put out long before had rekindled. He reached out a hand and tore the jewel from around Kagome's neck.

"Don't you know what this is?" He asked harshly, his voice barely audible. Kagome's eyebrows shot up in surprise. What had made Inuyasha so mad all of a sudden? What was the jewel anyways?

"You didn't find this at the lake did you?" Inuyasha asked, "Kikyo gave it to you, am I right?" Kagome gasped. It was the first time Inu Yasha had mentioned Kikyo, she realized. What did he mean 'Kikyo gave it to you'?

"No, she didn't. Why?" Kagome demanded, all of the shyness and uncertainty of before had left her altogether. Now she was feeling very uncomfortable. She wanted answers to Inuyasha's questions, and she didn't care if he knew it or not. "Now can I have it back?" She said pointing to the jewel that currently resided in Inuyasha's clenched hands.

"Come in," He gestured towards the open door of his house, "We need to talk-you and me." Kagome nodded, still totally confused over what just happened. She could not see the look on Inuyasha's face, for he had turned his back on her and was now walking towards the door of his abode, but she imagined it to be a grim one.

When Kagome had settled on the moth-eaten couch, Inuyasha slumped down in a large, Victorian chair, opposite of her. Kagome noted that the stuffing was bursting out in some places and there were a few odd stains here and there. _Where are this kids parents?_

"Kikyo gave me this necklace on our anniversary." Inuyasha said suddenly, rolling the jewel in between his thumb and forefinger, his eyes transfixed on the orb. He sniffed, not pathetically, just like he was remembering something nice that he had forgotten about, and then just remembered.

"I gave it back to her a week ago-though she didn't know it was me." Kagome was looking at him with a look of pure and utter frustration because she didn't understand a thing he was saying. He didn't seem to notice.

"You know, _I_ got that at the river _a week_ ago!" She told him. How long was it going to take to drill _that_ thought into his head? Inuyasha's perfectly sculpted mouth dropped open.

"Shit" Inuyasha swore. Kagome put her bewildered head in her hands. "Now can you be nice enough to please tell me what this is all about?" She said in an undertone. She didn't really think Inuyasha would hear her, but maybe those dog ears really were real

"Look Kagome, I made a mistake." _You can say that again. _Kagome remarked in her head. "You know how you look a lot like your cousin?" All of the Higurashi's relatives made sure they told her and Kikyo that every year when they visited... how could she forget?

Inuyasha continued, "Well, I accidentally mixed you guys up. See, it's kind of hard to see underwater and" He trailed off when he saw the look on Kagome's face. She looked absolutely bewildered as she realized now exactly how the jewel came to reside around her neck. It had been Inuyasha.

"Geez Inuyasha, that's so sweet. To return it and all" Kagome said in her sweetest voice, "Next time-GET THE RIGHT GIRL!" She yelled, knowing her face was turning a bright tomato red.

Inuyasha, unprepared for Kagome's reaction, jumped about four feet into the air, landing back on his chair with a small _thump _that would have been a lot louder if not for the padding on that giant Victorian chair.

Sighing Inuyasha tossed the jewel back to Kagome. "I guess you can have it, Kikyo won't want it anyways." Then Inuyasha asked, "So, why _are _you here anyways?" Shaking her head, Kagome embarrassingly explained that she had come to apologize to him. It didn't turn out very well; by the time Kagome had gotten halfway through her formal apology, she could tell that Inuyasha was having a hard time paying attention to her, he had a look of concentration on his face, but his interest was far from her reach.

"What?" She demanded, feeling a little hurt that he wasn't taking her seriously. Inuyasha shook his head as if to assure her that he wasn't trying to be rude, "It's just so funny, I transfer to a new school and I'm confronted with the same old problems." He lowered his voice and Kagome strained to hear him, "She refuses to leave me alone"

Inuyasha and Kagome talked for a while, about light things: school, homework, hobbies... Kagome made sure that she didn't bring up even the slightest mention of Kikyo; one false move might break the balancing act and bring the two of them plummeting downwards.

Time flew by and Kagome felt herself warming up to Inuyasha. Sure, he could be a little bit rude and bad tempered, but he wasn't so bad as long as you were patient enough to work through the barrier he had brought up around himself to keep people out-and to keep his real emotions in.

The time had come for Kagome to leave, and as she rode home on her bike, she pondered her experience with Inuyasha. She surprised herself when she realized that she had already started to enjoy being around the boy. His crude humor and boisterous demeanor was just an act to keep people away from the person he really was, on the inside she found the true Inuyasha. She only hoped he had enjoyed their visit as much as she had or else the next year of classes would be a little uncomfortable for the both of them.

By the time Kagome got home, it was later than she would have liked, especially since tomorrow was a Monday, but she felt it was worth it. That is until she faced that wrath of her worry-sick mother.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN YOUNG LADY?"

"Mom, it's okay I just-"

"NO IT IS NOT OKAY" you get the picture

Well, I hoped you guys liked the chapter! There's much more coming your way; and hopefully real soon! Please take the time to review and tell me how you liked it! Comments, criticism, praise; all are welcome!


	4. Referrals and IceCream

Chapter 4

Referrals and Ice-Cream

Kagome was grounded for the whole week; it sucked big time. She couldn't give her mother a reason why she had been out so late because it would have made the situation even more awkward (Yeah Mom, the reason I was so late coming home was because I was over at this boy's house-without his parents home!). So she just took the punishment.

The part that sucked the most was the fact that she couldn't even call Sango and tell her about the whole apology-turned-into-oddly-deep-talk with Inuyasha! She knew that Sango would have loved to hear about it, juicy details and all. Now she would have to wait until the next day to tell her instead of her clueing her in now. Bummer.

Luckily, now that she and Inuyasha were on better terms, it wouldn't be _as _unbearable to have him in all of her classes. Keyword: _as_. It wasn't too bad, but the fact that he cheated on Kikyo was still nagging at the back of her mind. Kagome decided not to mention Kikyo until she got closer to Inuyasha. If that _ever _happened.

Kagome rolled onto her side and fiddled with her alarm clock so that it would ring an hour earlier. That way she would have time to talk to Sango before school. Sango had band at seven O'clock to seven thirty and she could fill her in between zero and first period.

_Kagome picked up the bottle of lotion that she always kept on her bedside table. She shook it upside down and smiled thoughtfully, "Perfect!" She exclaimed as she popped something that looked suspiciously like those hamsters in that messed up TV show for kids (otherwise known as Hamtaro) into the empty lotion bottle. Then she proceeded to pop the rest of the things into other empty lotion bottles. _

_"Now you'll all smell pretty after I clean your cages!" _

_RING, RING, RING, RING_

RING, RING, RI- Kagome's hand swiped at the alarm clock and managed to grope around and find the 'Off' button. _Errg, _she thought, _what a stupid dream_Kagome pondered over the meaning of her curious dream as she got dressed for school.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Kagome threw a Pop-Tart into the toaster and rearranged her books to make her overloaded bag a little lighter so in ten years she wouldn't resemble Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notredame.

"Bye Mom, bye Souta, bye Grandpa!" She yelled as she barreled out the front door, causing Souta to shout after her groggily, "Ever heard of sleeping in???" Kagome just laughed as she swung her leg over her bike and rode off in the general direction of her high school.

"Hamtaro... and _lotion_ bottles?" Sango said, looking at Kagome oddly while adjusting the strap on her giant tuba. "Are you high?" Laughing Kagome asked if Sango thought it meant something, "Did you ever have a hamster you never took care of? Because I think your dream was telling you that you want your hamster to be in a happy, lotion-y place." They both exchanged glances and then burst out laughing.

After they had calmed down a bit, Kagome explained how she had gone over to Inuyasha's house and talked to him a little. "...So he really isn't that bad after all!" She finished. Sango nodded her head, "I knew you'd see it my way!" Kagome raised her eyebrows, "Since when was it _your_ way?"

Right then Mr. M, Kagome's first period teacher walked by, holding a large stack of papers. Kagome, not noticing the fact that Mr. M seemed a little overloaded at the moment called, "Hey Mr. M!" Poor Mr. M jumped straight up in the air, totally surprised because he hadn't noticed the two girls in the hallway. The large stack of papers landed successfully on Sango's unguarded head.

"Gee, thanks Kagome, I always wanted a pile of papers to conveniently fall on my HEAD!" Kagome rushed over to the shell shocked Mr. M and started apologizing as rapidly as possible. He waved her off laughing, "I'll pretend it didn't even happen if you and your _friend_ help me pick up these papers!"

Kagome nodded introducing the two, "Sango, this is Mr. Miroku-my art substitute. Mr. M, this is Sango." Sango and Miroku shook hands and Sango gave the substitute a jerky nod. "Nice to meet you-Sango is it?" Kagome totally missed the sarcastic tone of Miroku's voice, or the roguish look Sango shot at him.

"See you in first period Kagome!" Miroku called after the two girls when they were done cleaning the papers off the ground. Kagome waved merrily back at him. "Isn't he the coolest sub ever?" She asked Sango exuberantly.

"Yeah, he's also the most perverted." Sango stated dryly. Kagome looked at her confused, "What was _that _supposed to mean?" Sango just made a little annoyed noise, "Oh-you'll see" Kagome shook her head while rolling her eyes, "Yeah, whatever Sango"

Kagome sat down in first period and unzipped her gigantic binder. Looking around, she saw that Inuyasha wasn't there. _He better come_ she thought to herself. As soon as she thought this she spotted the silver-red flash that was Inuyasha. He landed in the chair next to her, but he was running so fast that he toppled the desk right over.

"Ah, Inuyasha; I see you've decided to grace us with your presence." Miroku said. Kagome was trying really hard to laugh, but it was just so funny! Inuyasha looked totally hysterical on the ground next to his desk with a sheepish look on his face.

"What're you laughing at?" He said to Kagome haughtily as he got up and dusted his rump off as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Kagome straightened out her expression and put an innocent look on her face, "Whatever do you mean Inuyasha?"

"Okay, when you two lovebirds are done flirting, can we please get started with class?" Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other and Kagome started laughing. Inuyasha managed to force out a strangled "Lovebirds?" Before he fell off his chair comically, which made Kagome laugh even harder.

"Kagome, Inuyasha, since you both seem to be having fun, why don't you take it to the principal's office?" Miroku handed them both little green slips of paper, which he scrawled an explanation of why he was sending them up to the office.

"Oh great, it's only the third week of school and I've been sent to the office already!" Kagome moaned, "What's my mom gonna say?" Inuyasha looked at her like she was crazy. "Are you kidding? I never go to the office when I get a referral; I just ditch for the period and then come back the next period after that." Now it was Kagome's turn to look shocked. _No wonder he got expelled from his other school_

"Everyone does it." He added. Kagome rolled her eyes. She knew that if they got found out they would be in even bigger trouble, but if they didn't, she didn't have to come home and explain to her mother that she had detention for the next week, as well as being grounded. Choices, choices

"I guess so" She told Inuyasha. "But just what will we do for the period?" Inuyasha pondered the question. "Well, not much, since it's only a period-but we could just ditch out all together. No one would know" Kagome knew this was taking an even bigger risk... but she couldn't help it. She didn't want Inuyasha to think she was a wuss did she?

"What now?" Kagome asked. She and Inuyasha were sitting on a bench near where she and Sango had gone swimming. They were eating ice-cream. Licking a bit of sorbet off his finger, Inuyasha answered, "I dunno, wanna go swimming?"

"I don't have a bathing suit." Kagome reminded him. He just shrugged, "You don't have to wear a bathing suit to go swimming, you know." He pointed out. Kagome smacked him over the head. "Pervert!"

"I didn't mean it that way!" He said quickly before Kagome hit him again. "I meant we can always go in our clothes." Kagome laughed in realization, "Ohh... duh." Inuyasha rolled his eyes before stating, "You don't have to go swimming 'cus you're a sissy, but I'm going in." With that Inuyasha earned himself another hearty buffet over the head.

"I'm NOT a sissy!" Pulling off her outer coat, and thanking Kami that she was wearing a black tank-top under her white school uniform, she dived into the water even before Inuyasha could get his shirt off.

"Look who's the sissy now!" Kagome called to him as he climbed a large rock. Inuyasha looked down at her, "I'm not a sissy, I just want to-" He paused as he stood up and made sure he wouldn't slip off the rock, "-do this... CANNONBALL!!!" Inuyasha dove into the water in a little ball creating a large wave of water towards Kagome.

Screaming and laughing, Kagome splashed Inuyasha with her own mini wave of water. Spluttering, he went underwater again. He was under for a while and Kagome was starting to get worried.

Suddenly, she felt something grasp her leg. Shrieking, she looked down to find Inuyasha. He surfaced, gasping and laughing. Kagome pummeled him, "Now it's war!"

For the rest of the afternoon, Kagome and Inuyasha had a giant water fight. Too soon, Kagome realized that she had better be getting home. "Hey, Inuyasha," She called, "I gotta get home!"

Inuyasha hauled himself out of the water. Kagome had to admit that he looked quite attractive. He was very muscular, but slim, and his skin sparkled in the dying sun. Some people's hair gets all knotty when they go swimming, but not Inuyasha. His hair was as smooth as ever. Kagome could see why her cousin liked him.

"I would invite you home, but I'm grounded so I can't have anyone over." Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, "What makes you so sure I'd actually want to come over anyways?" He asked.

Smiling and shaking her head, she hopped on her bicycle. "Thanks for everything Inuyasha, see you tomorrow." Then she started to pedal home, a small smile on her face.

I hope you all liked this installment of 'Simple and Clean'! Thank you to my lone reviewer (you know who you are ), you so rock!!! Yay!!! Did I mention I'm a sucker for reviews and may update faster if I get them... hint hint... big grin... PLEASE????


	5. Not My Fault I'm Related to Celebrity

RandomInsanePaperPrincess, kikiumetime(I'm not really sure about your gender so don't kill me about what I'm gonna say next!! guilty look) and Shesshy-Slipperz/S.Wooz, you guys (sorry, my feminism is coming in to correct me)-I mean girls- rock!!! Doumo arigato muchachos!!!! Pardon my politically incorrectness (and the long wait! nervous look don't kill me!!), now on with the story!!!

Chapter 5:

It's Not My Fault I'm Related to Someone Famous!

Kagome couldn't believe how much she had come to like Inu Yasha in the past three weeks. It wasn't the kind of 'love' like between girlfriend and boyfriend, heck, it wasn't even a crush. She guessed you could call it a mutual friendship, without the benefits

She didn't exactly know how Sango would react to Kagome ditching class, and she didn't even want to know what she was going to say when Kagome told her who precisely she had played hooky with. _Maybe I shouldn't tell her at all... _Kagome thought to herself. But than again, Sango was the one who told her to lighten up on the poor guy in the first place.

Kagome shook her head, mentally scolding herself. Why shouldn't she tell Sango? It's not like she would hate her just for becoming friends with the most popular, girl-loved, boy in the whole school... She winced. It might be a good idea to break it to her gently.

Kagome changed into her pajamas and jumped into her bed, cuddling her gigantic calico cat, Buyo. Buyo let out a strangled meow as Kagome squeezed him happily. Life was good. Letting Buyo go, Kagome pulled her covers up to her chin and clicked off her light. Her last thought before drifting off to sleep was, _Now all I have to worry about is Kikyo finding out..._

__

The next day at school, Kagome met up with Sango as usual. Sango was at the edge of a large crowd of people. They all seemed to be seniors and they all were wearing designer clothing and had expensive purses cradled in their arms. That could only mean one thing: the high and mighty were flocking.

"So I guess there's a new guy in town, he must be pretty popular." Sango remarked moodily. "It's sad how low the student population of this school has sunk." Kagome nodded in agreement; the high school was divided into groups. The popular kids, the geeks and nerds and the people who weren't genius' but weren't considered popular either. Kagome and Sango fit into the latter of the three. Inu Yasha on the other hand, Kagome realized, fit into the former.

Sure enough, Kagome spotted a flash of silver hair in the crowd. She stood on tip-toe to get a better look at him. Suddenly, she wished she hadn't. Inu Yasha was surrounded by a large pack of handbag swinging, make-up slathered, giggly girls. The right words to describe the scene she was witnessing would have to be either 'idol worship' or 'disgustingly preppy'. She didn't care which.

Sango, on the other hand, was busy trying to get a look at the person everyone was crowded around. "Kagome, who do you think it is?" Kagome looked out across the crowd. "I dunno. Probably a guy though, you can tell by all the shrieking. No normal person, besides a hyperactive girl could produce such an ear-shattering sound." She answered, her eyes unconsciously straying back to Inuyasha.

The bell rang and Kagome made her way to the double doors that welcomed students to the brainwashing slave-drive that made them all into mindless drones. As odd as it sounded, she was looking forward to art class. No giggling, shrieking girls would be there hanging all over Inu Yasha and making her feel totally uncomfortable, at least.

Slipping into her seat besides Inu Yasha, Kagome smiled at him. He nodded back, smiling. "So who's the new kid on the block?" Kagome asked, feigning curiosity. Inu Yasha rolled his eyes.

"He's my half-brother, Sesshomaru." Kagome gasped. She never knew that Inu Yasha was related to Sesshomaru, the famous designer. Inu Yasha scowled. "Yeah, I usually get that when people find out about him. It gets kind of annoying." His voice more than hinted that he thought as his brother more like the family member that went crazy who was locked up in the attic than a superstar.

Kagome blushed. She hadn't meant to piss off Inu Yasha. "Oh. Err, sorry about that. It's just-you don't get to meet a famous person every day, and then to find out that you've been hanging out with his brother-well it's just a little surprising." She explained, hoping she didn't make Inu Yasha even more annoyed than he already was.

"Yeah, whatever." He brushed off her awkward apology, "I'm just not on the best terms with my half-brother." Kagome noticed how Inu Yasha emphasized the 'half' in half-brother. _I don't think he likes his half-brother very much... _Kagome thought (wow, good one Kagome, I would have never figured that one out!).

"Well you'll have to get me his autograph sometime." Kagome told him cheerfully, punching him playfully on the arm. Inu Yasha gave her a look of pure hatred. Raising her hands in a truce, she said quickly, "Just joking Inuyasha!" Inuyasha blew out an exasperated breath. Kagome thought she heard him mumble, "It's not my fault I'm related to someone famous." Kagome chose not to comment on his last statement, knowing she might as well just throw herself off a cliff; it would be in sense, the same effect.

"Hey Kagome!" An exuberantly cheerful voice came from behind her. Kagome jumped straight out of her chair. Turning around she came face to face with Sango. "S-S-Sango, what are you doing here?" She managed to stutter. Sango smiled as she sat down on Kagome's other side.

"Oh, well, since I have my elective for zero period, you know band, I got out after fifth period. The school didn't want that to happen, so they put me in art, so now I have two electives!" Sango gibbered. Kagome smiled, hoping that Sango wouldn't realize who was sitting on the other side of Kagome.

"Hey! You're Inuyasha!" Kagome sighed, as the plan to convince Inu Yasha to stay well hidden toppled. "Your Sesshomaru's brother huh?" She asked him excitedly. _How does everyone know this except for me?! _Kagome thought as Inuyasha sighed, rubbing his head ("half-brother, half-brother!!!!").

Kagome managed a slight smile as she watched Sango try to convince him to get her a free V.I.P. ticket to Sesshomaru's next big fashion show. Kagome realized that Sango hadn't mentioned the fact that she wasn't the biggest fan of Inuyasha. _I guess she doesn't want to spoil her chances of getting that ticket. _Kagome glanced to see the pathetic look on Inuyasha's face. "Here we go again..."

"Are all your friends that hyperactive?" Inuyasha asked curiously in second period. They were talking to each other instead of listening to the biology teacher. Kagome glared at him, "Are all your friends so giggly?" Kagome asked him coldly.

"What's _that _supposed to mean?" Inuyasha demanded. Kagome just put on an innocent look, and refused to say anything more.

"Fine, _be _that way."

"...Inuyasha and Kagome..." Kagome and Inuyasha looked up at the sound of their names. Kagome glared at Inu Yasha, "You got me in trouble _again_!" Kagome looked up at the teacher again, ignoring Inuyasha's protests.

"Inuyasha, _Kagome!_" the teacher said impatiently, "Please come and get the instructions for the experiment!" Kagome walked awkwardly up to the table. "Uh, Mr. Chin? Who's my lab partner again?" Mr. Chin sighed as he handed Kagome two thick packets, "Inuyasha, Miss Higurashi."

Kagome plopped down in her seat again. She shot a warning glance over at Inuyasha as she passed him his set of instructions. "You are skating on thin ice mister." She told him, trying to sound menacing.

"I don't know how to skate." Inu Yasha informed her, matter-of-factly. Kagome let out a _humph_, "That just makes things worse for you, doesn't it?" She said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Sango? I was wondering... how is Sesshomaru a famous fashion designer? He's not even out of high school." Kagome asked Sango. Sango looked up from her Mocha-Frappachino that she had been gulping down, while cramming for an English test she had after lunch. "Oh, well-he didn't actually start the company-he inherited it. So when he has the time, he does designing, and he goes to school. Isn't he the coolest?" Kagome nodded, holding back the urge to mention that most designers just cut up a little rag, dyed it, sewed sequins on it and called it a masterpiece.

"Cool, Sango." Sango looked at her curiously, "So, where were you at lunch yesterday?" She asked. Kagome thought quickly. "I was, umm, re-taking my math test." Sango looked at her strangely, "I thought you aced that."

"Different test." Kagome said, shrugging her shoulders and hoping Sango couldn't tell she was lying. Sango shrugged her shoulders too, and went back to draining the last of her Frappachino. The bell rang and Kagome waved goodbye to Sango. Sango walked off still muttering the meaning for Greek and Latin roots.

Kagome was watching her go, and not watching where _she _was going. Her unawareness resulted in her running straight into another unfortunate person. Luckily this time, no papers, books or binders went flying because she found herself cushioned on something soft and fluffy.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Kagome said stabling herself. She looked up and found herself gazing up into the face of Inu Yasha's half-brother, and world famous fashion designer, Sesshomaru. "Woops" She said softly. She gulped as he looked down at her, his amber eyes, though the same color as Inuyasha's, held none of the emotions that were usually present in half brother's eyes.

"It's quite all right," Sesshomaru told her coolly, "I'm sorry that I didn't see that coming." Kagome just stared him. Well, he was certainly more mature than his half-brother

"You must be flustered. Jaken, get this girl a glass of water." Then without further ado, Sesshomaru walked off, presumably to his next class. Kagome watched, dumbfounded, as a posse of girls ran after him, holding cameras and large signs saying: 'We love you Sesshomaru' or 'Can I Have Your Autograph?' One even said: 'Marry Me Sesshomaru?'

As soon as Sesshomaru left, a small, froglike creature wearing a school uniform that was at least four sizes too big for him, waddled up. He handed Kagome a glass of water. "Courtesy of Sesshomaru-sama, Miss." He said. Kagome raised an eyebrow. _Someone's been going too close to the nuclear power-plant lately... _She thought as she accepted the glass of water from him.

Kagome gulped the water down, realizing she would be late for class if she didn't hurry. "Thanks little dude." She told him, tossing the empty glass to him. Jaken watched Kagome go with a frown on his odd little face. "Little dude?"

As soon as Kagome had rounded the hall corner, Inuyasha popped into view. "Hey, Jaken," He called, "Give this to Sesshomaru for me." With that he smacked his English book over Jaken's head, leaving a comical bump on Jaken's head.

"INUYASHA!!!" Jaken yelled after the mischievous half-brother of his master. But Inu Yasha was already out of sight. A teacher popped her head around the door. "Will you keep it down? I'm teaching a class!" Jaken nodded swiftly, a guilty look on his face. _Why is it always **my** fault? _He asked himself, trudging off to Sesshomaru's next class.

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! If you wanted to know, Rin _will _be making an appearance later in the story, but you might not realize it's her, hint hint you'll have to pay attention to the details! Thanks to all of my reviewers, hopefully you guys haven't abandoned me because I hardly ever update! I'll try to work harder for you guys!!


	6. Surfing

Hello yon people of the nether world (AKA I haven't gotten out too much this week), here is another chapter from yours truly. Shesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz you are the same person right? You just changed your screen name? I'm con-foo-sed!!! Oh woe is the world, but I have a Kevorkian scarf, round my neck! Sorry, random quote from an online cartoon called Foamy the Squirrel (don't ask...). On with the story!

Chapter 6

Surfing

Kagome smiled as she woke up on Saturday morning. The sun was barging through her window inviting her to get out of bed, the birds were singing and she smelled her mother making waffles. Yup, it was going to be a good day.

She stepped out of bed and into her Ugg boots. Wiggling her toes into the soft comfy-ness of her boots she realized happily that her groundation (was that a word?? Oh well, if our idiot president can make up words, so can I!) was finally over. She almost shouted for joy. Kagome pulled on a tight fitting white shirt that showed off the curves that she had acquired over the summer and some worn out and very faded pair of jeans shorts that were so old that they now had a natural fringe at the edges.

She bounced down the stairs and pushed though the kitchen door to get to the stove to make sure she got first dibs on those waffles. Who she saw at the dining room table made her stop in mid bounce. It was Hojo. He was standing politely (and a little awkwardly) waiting for her mother to sit down before he could eat the crispy, golden-brown waffle of joy that was lying on his plate.

"Kagome, look who is joining us for breakfast!" Her mother cried exuberantly. Kagome eye was twitching slightly as she plopped jerkily down into the chair as far away as humanely possible from Hojo. Sure, he was a nice guy, he just kind of creeped her out at times.

"Hi." She said shortly, brining her hand up in an uncomfortable salute.

"Too bad not all the boys at school are like Hobo nowadays." Mrs. Higurashi sighed, shaking her head and looking lovingly at Hojo. Kagome puffed out her cheeks, trying not to spit out the mouthful of waffle she had been eating. Obviously Mrs. Higurashi hadn't noticed that she had said something wrong because she went back to making sure everyone's orange juice was filled and Hojo had had enough to eat. Hojo wasn't about to correct her, he was too polite.

Kagome glanced over at Grandpa and Souta who were both doubled over in silent laughter. She decided it would be best to let her mother live in a dream world for now: it was just too funny to see her call Hojo 'Hobo'.

Kagome finished up her breakfast as soon as she could and pulled on a baseball cap as she hurried to the door. "I'm gonna run over to Sango's for a while mom!" She called as she ran out of the house. Kagome got successfully halfway to the shrine exit when she almost bowled over Hojo.

"Hojo!" Kagome said, smiling uneasily. She widened her fake grin and tried to walk by him, intent on getting out before she could do anything too embarrassing. He waved awkwardly and put on an inquiring face.

"Hey Kagome," Hojo said, his voice pitching higher than normal. Kagome knew what was coming next and she was dreading it. She was already thinking up ways to get herself out of the date the Hojo was about to ask her on. "Do you wanna go surfing with me?" Kagome stared at him, shocked beyond belief. Since when could Hojo _surf_?

She stood there for a few seconds, and then she started thinking. She had always wanted to learn to surf, but with the little time she had taken up by math tutoring or friends, she didn't have time to go to the beach, let alone try her hand at the art of surfing. Anyways, she didn't have a car.

"Umm," Kagome sighed, knowing she was probably going to regret her answer later, "Sure Hojo, why not?" She put on a fake smile, hoping Hojo was too blinded with happiness to realize that Kagome was already dreading her answer. _A whole day with Hojo? What was I thinking???_

"Okay, well see you-?" Hojo paused waiting for Kagome to set a time. Kagome fidgeted uncomfortably, rubbing her foot against her leg. "I won't take long, so umm, why don't you stay downstairs while I go get my bathing suit on." She led the way back into the house and made sure that Hojo stayed put on the sofa. She hurried up the stairs to her room, oblivious to the blissful look Hojo had plastered across his face.

Kagome had a hard time picking out a bathing suit. Even with the fact that she never went to the beach, she still had a large amount of bathing suits. Deciding on a blue two piece with no ties, just straps (You could never be too careful with the ones with all the strings, they had a habit of untying in the worst of situations). She scowled as she pulled it on, trying not to muss her hair. She turned around in the mirror as she examined the back of her suit, pulling and hiking until the tiny tan line that she actually had didn't show. Kagome sighed as she realized she hadn't gotten much of a tan over the summer.

"Oh well, some tan is better than none." Laughing she remembered what her mother had said at the beginning of summer, _no tan is a healthy tan, Kagome! _She sighed and picked up the beach-bag she had packed. She went over a mental checklist in her head: _sunscreen? Check. Towel? Check. Lunch? Check. _She pulled on a loose T-shirt and wrapped a sarong around her waist. Hiking her large bag onto her shoulder she made her way downstairs.

Hojo was waiting for her, smiling happily, still situated loyally on the couch. Her mother was waiting for her also. Kagome scowled as her mother handed her a large packet of papers. "These are all the phone numbers you should call if you have an emergency-" Mrs. Higurashi flipped through the first five pages of the packet.

"Mom," Mrs. Higurashi nodded to show she was listening, "Half these people live farther away from the beach than we do. For crying out loud, Uncle Yuki lives in California!" Mrs. Higurashi looked up from the paperwork a childishly hurt look playing across her motherly features.

"I know- I just want you to be extra safe; seeing that it's your _first _date and all!" Kagome closed her eyes and wrinkled her brow, hoping that her mother had not just said what she thought she had just said. Even if it was her first date, did Hojo really need to know that?!

"Bye mom." Kagome called as she dragged Hojo along before her mother could say anything more.

"Bye honey, have a good time with Hobo!" Kagome mentally slapped herself. Why did parents have to be so embarrassing!

Kagome walked down to the public bus station with Hojo. The day was bright and the sun beat down on her back, despite her t-shirt. They arrived just as their bus was pulling out of the station so they had to run to catch it. Hojo, the gentleman that he was, helped her up onto the bus. He also paid for her ticket because she had forgotten her wallet. Kagome smiled happily as she sat down next to Hojo on the uncomfortable plastic seats. _This isn't so bad, _she thought, _I could totally get used to this._

Okay people, don't kill me. I have a perfectly good explanation as to why I have not updated in the past month or so. See, I got sick, then I had a mountain of homework and then I had my weekends filled by the sickening sweetness of helping others (other wise known as Girl Scouts psycho music comes on). Yes, you see, I was lending my service hour to small children who do not know how to tie knots, build fires, do a flag ceremony or perform first aid. Fun Fun!!! Trust me; I will never, EVER do anything that involves me controlling small children for eight hours non-stop ever again!!!! You wouldn't either if afterwards almost every fricking child in your town called you by the nickname 'Skittle'... shudder

Shesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz : loved the Chihuahua comment! That was great! I think my ankles are gone now because I am such a bad person, forgive me oh mighty one of reviews!!!

RandomInsanePaperPrincess : Thanks for being so awesome and reviewing! I'm not a Kikyo hater myself (dodges raining grenades) and I don't want to make her look bad, but in this story, her part will be a vengeful one. I can't say at the moment if Inuyasha was a bad boy or not because obviously that would ruin some part of the story, but you'll see, so keep reading (hopeful look and reviewing too??)!


	7. Tandem

Errrggg... I'm in so much pain!!! See, I'm like a magnet to bad things. In the same month that I managed to get sick, I also sprained my ankle and acquired a needle-like pain in my head... migraine... thank you to my reviewer(s?):

Chapter 7

Tandem

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief as she and Hojo got out of the stuffy bus. It dropped them off on one side of the highway. On the other side of the burning strip of molten (it was hot...) tar was the beach. Kagome looked at it in longing, the crisp water taunting her burning neck.

The cool water slapped against the shore and shouts of children and the sound of the ocean was refreshing, yet like something close, but far enough that, to a very hot Kagome, it seemed she never would actually be able to reach it. Her thoughts scattered as she laughed at a particular little , her hair down except for a small pony tail on the side of her head, wearing a tan and orange checkered dress, chasing after a small green dog. Her eyes strayed and then did a double take.

Small green dog? Since when were dogs green??? Kagome stared at the little thing to and admitted to herself that it looked a lot more like a giant frog than a dog. Then the realization hit her like a stab in the back. It was the little green dude who hung around with Sesshomaru, Inu Yasha's half brother.

_What's he doing here, _Kagome wondered, unaware that Hojo was trying to talk to her. She scanned the beach for a tall, silver haired man with puff pants and a furry cape thing. Nope. Nada. No sign of the infamous Sesshomaru. Kagome finally realized that Hojo was talking to her, and rubbed her head for she was beginning to feel very dehydrated.

"Um, Kagome, do you want to go now?" Hojo asked uncertainly, probably wondering why his date was staring off at the beach with a glazed expression. Kagome nodded and smiled uncertainly. If Sesshomaru wasn't at the beach, then she was perfectly fine. But if he was, she might have to convince Hojo to take her somewhere where they wouldn't be trampled by rabid fan s.

Looking both ways like her mother had drilled into her head; Kagome sprinted across the highway (this part her mother hadn't mentioned), not particularly caring that she was leaving Hojo behind her. Her mind was set on that great blue expanse and the feeling of the water as it flowed over her searing body. Hojo ran after her, catching up on the other side.

The two walked down to a good spot and set down their towels and beach bags. Then Kagome realized yet another thing. "Hojo," She asked worriedly, "You don't by any chance have a surfboard, do you?" Kagome fidgeted. How were they going to surf without a surfboard? Kagome wasn't too worried though, she just wanted to get into that water, and fast!

"Don't worry Kagome," Hojo said in his bubbly, annoyingly happy voice, "Were _renting _a surfboard." Kagome mentally slapped herself. Duh. She was so stupid sometimes. Why would Hojo cart a surfboard around with him everywhere he went?

Kagome stripped off her sarong and shirt, folding them neatly in her bag. Hojo took off his t-shirt, revealing, to Kagome's surprise, very nice abs. Who knew? Kagome slapped on some sunscreen, politely refusing Hojo's offer to do it for her. His abs weren't _that _nice.

Leaving Kagome to twiddle her , Hojo went to go rent two surfboards from a vendor. Kagome relaxed in the sun, wishing she had an umbrella. She didn't want to be rude, so she decided to wait for Hojo before going into the water. _I'm too nice for my own good, _She thought to herself sarcastically. Hojo came back fifteen minutes later with only one surfboard. "Sorry Kagome," He said, "I used the money I was going to use to get a surfboard to pay for your bus fare, so I could only afford one surfboard." He didn't look too sorry to Kagome, besides, how could a measly two dollars be enough to rent a surfboard? She didn't buy it for a minute.

Kagome rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. It looked like she wasn't going to get to go surfing after all. "So I guess you'll just go out then?" Kagome forced a strained smile as her hopes of ever learning to surf in her lifetime vanished like a diamond ring down the garbage disposal. Hojo looked confused, he shook his head.

"No, it's okay, we can go tandem!" Kagome had no idea what he was saying, but she nodded her head anyways, "It'll be fun" Hojo looked at Kagome a minute, sensing that she hadn't understood what her had said by the clueless, but happy-go-lucky look on her face.

"You _do_ know what tandem is-don't you?" Kagome shook her head hopelessly, feeling totally stupid. Hojo smiled kindly, oblivious to Kagome's embarrassment. "Tandem is when you surf together on one board." Kagome let out a little 'oh' and smiled back at Hojo. God, she was such an idiot. "Or," he added on second thought, "It also means you ride on the same wave, with different boards, but since we only have one...yeah."

Hojo hefted the board under his arm and beckoned Kagome to follow him with his free hand. Kagome walked next to him as they made their way down the beach where the surf was cleaner. Kagome followed Hojo into the water until they were submerged to mid thigh. She shivered, the water was colder than she expected. It bit at her unprotected stomach, but it was a relief from the smoldering sand of the beach.

"Get on the board and use your arms to paddle out," Hojo instructed her. Kagome swung herself onto the fiberglass board. It felt wobbly and unsafe and the wax stuck to her bare stomach uncomfortably. Then Hojo climbed on after her. He steadied the board, and Kagome's felt less afraid.

Then Hojo rested his chest just a few inches higher than her bottom. It is an odd sensation to have someone lay on your legs (and for that matter, your backside), especially if that someone is the hottest boy in your grade and has no shirt on. Kagome knew that Hojo wasn't being perverted; the board just wasn't long enough to stabilize it any other way. Not that she minded.

She started to paddle out, and she felt Hojo's muscles tense as he pumped his arms as well. She held her breath and prayed to the gods that she wouldn't drown as an onslaught of whitewater came rushing towards her.

Luckily, Hojo's powerful arms pushed the board and a very frightened Kagome through the waves out to a place where the waves weren't breaking. Kagome peeled her white fingers one by one off of the side of the board, where she had clutched, fearing for her life.

"It's okay Kagome, it's only water you know." _Yeah,_ she thought, _ever heard of a thing called by drowning???_ Kagome nodded her head stiffly as she sat up on the wet board, only to fall off. She almost screamed in fright as she floundered in the water until she realized that she knew how to swim.

Hojo pulled her out of the water and onto the safety of the surfboard once more. Though she could have done it on her own, she had a feeling that Hojo was just trying to be nice so she let him tug her out. "Thank Kami for swimming lessons." She mumbled under her breath.

Kagome spent the rest of the morning learning the basics of surfing. By the time noon had swung around, Kagome was standing up, riding the small waves. She found that it was peaceful to surf. It was also beyond anything she had ever imagined. Surfing, even on the little waves, felt like flying. The satisfying sound of the board slicing through the water formed its own music unlike anything Kagome had ever experienced. Having Hojo's hands around her waist made her feel safe and invincible. Nothing could ruin her serenity then, not even a certain silver-haired Hanyou. That was a good thing, considering that he had been watching her, sunglasses low on his nose; waiting.

Kagome paddled back out to the lineup to get ready for another go. Sitting up on the board she swung her legs around so that she could face Hojo. Smiling sincerely, she told him, "This is so much fun! We should totally do this again!" Hojo wasn't returning her smile. To be honest, he wasn't even looking at her face. He was looking at her chest.

Kagome looked at him in horror as he stared at her. He was completely oblivious to Kagome's shock. Kagome looked down as well, hoping to God that her bathing suit was securely fastened. Looking up, he pointed at the jewel that was around her neck, and conveniently located-you guessed it-right near where her bathing suit started. "Wow, that's really pretty, is it quarts?" He asked her.

Kagome fingered the jewel. Pondering the question. What was the jewel made of anyways? For that matter, why did Kikyo think it was special? Was she missing something? "Um... I don't really know-" She paused, wondering how to phrase the next thing she was going to say, "A friend gave it to me." Was Inu Yasha a friend? Or was he just an acquaintance? Did you skip school, eat ice cream and swim in the lake in the park with an acquaintance? This was all so confusing!

"Cool!" Hojo said. Then he checked over his shoulder, looking for a good wave to catch. Kagome let her mind wander back to its safe haven; but the thoughts of the jewel, Kikyo and Inu Yasha were still there, locked in a corner of her mind, struggling to come out...

By three O'clock Kagome and Hojo decided to get out to re-apply sunscreen and get some lunch. Hojo went off to find a food vendor, leaving Kagome to sit in the sun and work on the tan she didn't have. She decided it best not to put on her sunglasses, for fear of looking like a raccoon.

Closing her eyes, Kagome inhaled and exhaled slowly, savoring the smell of the sand, the sea and sun-tan lotion. After a while she rolled over onto her back to tan on the other side. This process reminded Kagome of pancakes. You flip them over and every time you flip them to a new side, the old side is a little more brown. She let out a little giggle.

Kagome felt a shadow across her face, blocking the sun. Immediately she thought it was Hojo, so she struggled to get her top tied. She could feel herself growing red in the face as she fumbled. While still struggling to get all the strings on her very stringy strung (say that ten times fast), she squinted up to look at Hojo.

Except for it wasn't Hojo. It was Inu Yasha.

To my reviewer this week:

inu-dog-dem: Thank you so much!! Doumo arigato gazaimasu!! (That means thanks a bunch in Japanese, but you probably already knew that...)

Hey you guys, I know you read my story, so review!!! See that little button on the left side of the screen? I call it the 'heaven's little angel'. It takes like, what, one minute to review and if you write fics you know how rewarding getting reviews is! Especially for me... I like to update fast when people review (hint hint)... so go on, that little button is calling you!


	8. Teen Severely Damaged From Too Much Shop

Chapter 8

Teen Severely Damaged From Too Much Shopping

"Erm... hey Inuyasha, what're you doing here?" Kagome stuttered, but forced the sentence out none the less. Kagome felt his amber eyes sweep up and down her body. Blushing, Kagome's face began to burn, the bathing suit ties loose in her hands. It was bad enough that Inu Yasha just _happened_ to be at the same beach, at the same time that Hojo was her with her on a DATE, and now she couldn't even get her bathing suit tied, not to mention it seemed as if there was a wad of cotton stuck in her air pipe. Why was this so uncomfortable? She didn't usually do this around Inuyasha!

Inuyasha looked annoyed and aggravated, but Kagome couldn't tell for sure. He knelt down beside her, and to her surprise deftly began to retie her bathing suit. A tremor went down her spine at the feeling of his hands against her back. As he worked, he reprimanded her, "You can't just wave that thing around you know, do you know how much it's worth?" He finished with her ties and pointed to the very ominous jewel hanging around Kagome's neck.

She blushed a little, but contained her embarrassment as well as her sudden annoyance. "It's not like it's worth money or anything, it just has sentimental value. Stop nagging on me!" Inuyasha looked at her like she had gone insane. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, which made him look like a fish.

"That," He said, his voice shaking slightly, his hand still pointing at the jewel, "Is the Shikon no Tama." Inuyasha, seeing Kagome's blank look, explained, "It is a legendary jewel formed up to ten centuries ago by the warrior priestess Midoriko. In old myths, it was said that Midoriko had the power to purify demons so they would be rendered harmless." Inuyasha dove into the story. It seemed to Kagome as if she were transported back to Sengoku Jidai, watching the story of Midoriko unfold. She fingered the jewel absently.

"One day, Midoriko was overcome by demons. She fought bravely, but there were too many for her to handle, therefore, the Shikon no Tama burst from her body, containing the spirits of both Midoriko and the demons. To this day they supposedly fight on inside that very jewel."

Inuyasha finished his tale, and Kagome closed her astonished mouth. "This is over ten hundred years old?" She asked in amazement, looking at the jewel in awe. She focused her attention on Inuyasha once more, "And why didn't you tell me this to begin with?" She demanded.

"I guess I-"

"Forgot? How could you have just _forgotten _that it was worth that much?"

"I didn't mean-" Inuyasha stuttered, surprised at her sudden outbreak.

"What? Was that information too good for me?" Before Inu Yasha could answer though, Hojo returned with the hot dogs. He looked slightly surprised, and a little bit perturbed to see Inu Yasha there. "Oh, _hello_ Inuyasha, imagine seeing you here." Inu Yasha made a strangled little noise and glared menacingly at Kagome before waving curtly goodbye. Kagome watched his receding back, noticing that it was turning a slight shade of pink. "Better put some sunscreen on Inuyasha!" She called after him.

Turning around on his heels, Inuyasha glared at her even harder. If looks could kill, Kagome might have already been six feet under. "I don't need a mother, thank you very much!"

Sango

(AN: Usually I only do scenes with Kagome present in them, but this was important so this is a Sango scene, hint hint)

Sango knocked on the art classroom door, hoping that Miroku had decided to do some extra work or something and was present at school, at noon, on a Saturday. Miraculously, the door opened and Miroku leaned out, an inquisitive look on his face. "If you would please not bother me right now I-"

He cut his sentence short, noticing who he was talking to. His face became confused. "Sango, why are you here? It's a Saturday..." Sango smiled, waving a blue paper in front of his nose. "I have to ask you about my grade." She looked at him expectantly, hoping that he had time to talk.

A look of realization spread across Miroku's face. "Of course! Silly me, I thought you had come to visit your favorite teacher!" Sango looked at him, and said in a sarcastic tone, "Well of course Miroku, you are _so _my most favoritist teacher!" Miroku rolled his eyes and made a _pft_ noise as he opened the door to let Sango in. Once she was inside, Miroku closed the door silently behind her. Sango helped herself to Miroku's cushioned chair, so he pulled up a spare. He shifted uncomfortably on the plastic chair. _These kids have to sit on crap..._

"Most_ favorite_." He corrected her grammar from before, "Can you please refrain from referring to me in a casual manner; I _am_ still your teacher you know." He told her sternly, though half-heartedly. Sango looked up from ruffling through papers on his desk, clearly not listening to anything he had just said. "Yeah, sure, whatever Miroku." Miroku sighed heavily.

"So your grade, yes, can I see that?" Miroku asked, meaning Sango's grade sheet. She handed it over to him, and as she did, her hand brushed against his. She blushed, but Miroku didn't react. If he hadn't noticed, or if he just didn't care, Sango couldn't tell. She frowned, _Does he...no, he couldn't..._

"Ah, I see what happened." He said, looking up at her and smiling. For some reason this made her blush even more. "Because you were absent the first month, I counted all the assignments for that month an F. Don't worry, I'll make sure to fix that by Monday, okay?" Setting aside the paper he stood up to let her out of the classroom.

"Thank you Mr. Miroku." Sango muttered. She looked up, and her eyes met with Miroku's. He smiled mysteriously, "No, thank _you_."

Sango walked quickly out of the classroom and didn't stop until she heard the door close behind her. As soon as she heard it click into place she turned around. Looking at the door for a while, she thought to herself in shock, _was he flirting with me?_ Sango shook her head. She was just imagining things.

Sitting back down in his comfier chair, Miroku sighed. As if to some third person, or just to comfort himself, he said aloud, "There's something familiar about that girl."

Kagome

Kagome hefted a large book under her arm. She had to carry books for four out of the six of her classes, and they were pretty big books. Each one weighed at least five pounds. With all of her school supplies, the last book (and the biggest), ended up residing under her arm as she staggered to and from her classes.

Kagome swept into her art class, flouncing unceremoniously into her seat. She turned to say a hello to Inuyasha, only to find that instead of Inuyasha sitting there; it was a giant red tomato with a tan line outlining what looked like sunglasses.

"I told you you should have put on sunscreen." She told him crossly. Inuyasha looked at her, his face was totally relaxed. Opening his lips slightly he forced out, "I dund ten esly." Kagome realized that Inuyasha couldn't move his face at all because the sunburn was so bad.

"You dun tan esly?" Kagome asked him sweetly, putting on an innocently evil face. Inuyasha opened his mouth a little wider. "I-don't-"He said slowly, making sure Kagome could understand him, "-tan-easily."

Smiling Kagome answered, "Oh! Why didn't you just say so?" If Inuyasha could frown, the look on his face might have blown Kagome out of her seat. "Would you like some aloe vera?" She asked, pulling a little blue tube out of her bag, "It works wonders!"

Inuyasha looked at her like she was crazy. "I don't need any of your aloe vera crap, damn it!" Scowling at him while she stowed the tube, Kagome turned to her other side, hoping for a more cheerful welcome.

Instead she got a very dazed Sango. Who was, at the moment, staring off into space. What _was_ she staring at? Kagome followed her gaze, finding only that it landed on their substitute teacher, Mr. M. _Definitely staring off into space, _Kagome decided. She tapped Sango lightly on the shoulder. She didn't respond, so Kagome turned away and gazed about the classroom distractedly. She spotted Hojo, who waved. She jerked her head in a kind of barbaric greeting.

Kagome quickly turned away, mentally gluing Hojo to his seat. _Don't come over here... don't come over!!!_ Kagome saw Hojo begin to rise out of his seat. She glanced at the clock; five more minutes until the bell rings... it was like watching a tennis match; from hojo, to the clock, and then back to the clock again.

"Hey Kagome," _Whatever happened to 'saved by the bell'???_ "Umm, are you free on Friday? Because I thought we could-" _Great, one date and he's already clingy... _Kagome forced herself to smile. She knew that it was such a fake smile that anyone besides Hojo would catch on real fast that she wasn't actually enjoying herself. Anyone except Hojo...

Kagome interrupted Hojo, "You know, actually, I'm-" She struggled with an excuse, any excuse to get out of this date with Hojo. "I'm doing something with-" She grappled with a name, choosing the first on that came to mind, "Inuyasha!" Kagome immediately realized her mistake. The one guy that she would never want to go out with; the one guy that Hojo would be most jealous of, and she had to say it. Her and her mouth. _I seriously need to start thinking before I talk..._

"Really, well, another time then?" Hojo asked looking strained. Kagome nodded happily, feeling like a complete idiot. Actually, she was smiling so awkwardly that she wouldn't be surprised if she looked like a teletubby or something. shudder

Kagome turned around to face Inuyasha. He was looking at her like she was a complete lunatic. She smiled guiltily, "You didn't by any chance hear that whole _entire _conversation did you?" She asked hopefully. Inuyasha just kept staring at her. Laughing nervously, Kagome turned around to face the front of the classroom. Two more minutes and class would start... _come on clock!!!_

Inuyasha cleared his throat. Kagome made a conscious decision in her mind. Crazy, yes. Completely out of the question, sadly, no. "Inuyasha, you wouldn't by any chance be free on Friday, would you?"

Inuyasha gave her a pained expression. "Aloe Vera?" He managed to croak. Kagome smiled, holding the tube of aloe vera in front of Inuyasha tauntingly. "Only if you'll go out with me Friday, after school." A fail-proof plan...

Friday

"I cannot believe I agreed to do this with you guys!" Inuyasha complained as Kagome and Sango dragged him happily through all of the shops in the mall. "This could be considered abuse you know! I can see the headlines now: 'Teen Severely Damaged from Too Much Shopping'."

Kagome just smiled at him sweetly, holding up a frilly pink hat with the words 'DRAMA QUEEN' written across it. "Inuyasha, you're drawing too much attention to yourself with those ears. Put this hat on now," He made a grunting noise and rolled his eyes. "...Or else." Kagome growled, lowering her eyes and glaring.

"Alright, alright!" Inuyasha stuck his tongue out, but pulled the hat roughly over his ears. A small child playing with an acorn walked by. Looking up, his mischievous eyes filled with naughtiness. His small, red tail twitched with amusement. Kagome adored the little kitsune instantaneously.

Smiling innocently up at Inuyasha he said, "I like your hat," His voice was as innocent as a child with a stolen cookie behind his back. "Mister Gay Man." He added. The fox pranced away from Inuyasha, who was currently trying to massacre the poor kid.

"Come here so I can smack you one upside the head!" Inuyasha glared. A few people stopped to look as the tall teenager with the pink hat yelled death threats after the small boy. Sango was doubled over in silent laughter as she watched the drama unfold.

"Inuyasha, stop it!" Kagome yelled, "Don't hurt him; he's only a little kid!" Inuyasha scowled over his shoulder, "Yah, that's part of the fricking problem!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome had had enough. Running over to the kitsune, who was aiming his acorn at Inu Yasha's head, she scooped him up and stood upright. Inuyasha skidded to a halt on the tile floor. "You stay right there Inuyasha." Kagome ordered.

"I'm not a dog you know." Inuyasha pointed out. Kagome's scowl deepened even more, and her lips were pressed tightly together. _Close enough..._ At that moment, the small kitsune launched his acorn missile, hitting its target squarely in the forehead. "Bad gay dog." The kid chided. And the drama started all over again.

Sango watched the hilarious trio. Inuyasha chasing Kagome with the Kitsune, Kagome yelling at Inuyasha, the kid getting loose from Kagome, the kid kicking Inuyasha, the kid finding out the hard way that kicking Inuyasha was a bad idea, and finally, Kagome slapping Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha really does fit his hat..." Sango said thoughtfully. Kagome had settled down with the kitsune on her lap and Inuyasha gone off to the ice-cream parlor to get ice for his head and ankle, both thanks to the small, adorable ball of joy now residing on Kagome's knee.

"So what's your name?" Kagome asked in a Hi-I'm-your-camp-counselor kind of voice, "I'm Kagome." The child, smiling lovably, answered back in the cutest voice he could manage, "I'm Shippo, and I'm eight years old." Kagome beamed at Shippo and patted him on the head, at which he scowled. Sango smiled, "You're just like Kohaku at that age..." She trailed off.

"So, anyone want ice cream?" Kagome asked quickly, trying to stop the awkward silence before it began. A large grin spread across Shippo's small features. "I haven't had ice cream since... since..." The kitsune screwed up his face trying to remember the last time he had ice cream. Realization flowed across his small features, "Since I ran away from the orphanage. But that was crappy ice cream anyways."

Kagome and Sango exchanged uneasy glances, but Shippo seemed totally unfazed by the whole thing. "You _ran away _from the orphanage?" Kagome asked in shock. Shippo nodded proudly and pointed to himself, "I can be imdabendent too, just like a grown–up."

Sango laughed as she relaxed, "Exactly like Kohaku at that age." Taking hold of Shippo's hand in a sisterly fashion, Sango led the exited kitsune in the general direction of the ice-cream parlor. Kagome paused to watch the two of them, smiling. It reminded her a little of her and her own brother.

"So, where do you live?" Kagome heard Sango ask when she caught up with the two. Shippo motioned over his shoulder, towards a large potted plant. Kagome was very confused, "You sleep _in _the plant?" Shippo smiled happily at her while nodding his head proudly. Obviously, he was proud of himself for finding such a great bed. Sango rolled her eyes.

"I guess I'll just have to take you home then, you can't keep going on sleeping in a plant you know," She smiled secretively as she whispered in the kitsune's ear, "You'll start growing leaves!" Shippo put a hand over his mouth, a scared expression on his face.

"Really?" He asked quietly. Sango nodded, "Really, really." Patting Shippo on the head again, much to his discomfort, She said, "C'mon let's go find Gay Man."

Ahhh... the sweet feeling of success! Another chapter finished!! Okay, you are so allowed to sick rabid gophers on me. I'm such an idiot!!! This is the whole story: while trying to update chapter 7, I obviously never clicked the "edit story" button, therefore, leaving the story uploaded in my account, just not _updated_... Rggghh... I am sooo sorry!!! Gomen nasai!!! Please don't hate me for my airheaded-ness!!!


	9. A Winter Escapade

Hey everyone, soooo sorry I haven't updated for so long!!!!! Riiiight, going on… so I want to give a big thank you to Inutori because he/she (I'm guessing you're a girl, because you're so sweet…(; ) was so kind and motivational in his/her review. This goes to show that despite popular belief, reviewers are not evil things sent from the depths of hell to torture people who suck at writing (not that I thought that or anything…). VampyreMistress99, you are also totally awesome, because you (and Auroras-flame, Inutori, Shesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz, kikiumetime, RandomInsanePaperPrincess, I haven't forgotten about you guys!!) put me on your "Author Watch List". Huggles for all!!! Kay, no more rambling and on with the _real _story:

Chapter 9

A Winter Escapade

Kagome sighed as she made herself comfortable in Sango's squishy bean-bag chair. Sinking into comfort, she closed her eyes and listened to the sound of splashing, Sango swearing, and Shippo complaining about having to take a bath.

"I smelled perfectly fine beforehand, now I smell like shit!" She heard Sango mutter something crude under her breath, and then say back to the very annoyed, and squeaky clean Shippo. "Well doesn't that just suck for you? At least it's _jasmine _scented shit, for Kami's sake!" Kagome laughed at this, craning to get a look inside the bathroom. Apparently Sango had heard her laugh.

"Would you like to be bathed in dirt, ice-cream, and jasmine scented bathwater as well Kagome?" Sango demanded crossly, "Not laughing anymore, are you?" But Kagome was laughing more, because Sango had appeared at the bathroom door, drenched from head to foot with a clump of bubbles stuck in her hair and dirt smudged across her face.

Sneering sarcastically at Kagome, Sango grabbed Shippo and began to dry his hair with a towel. It didn't wok as well as she'd have hoped though, and I a matter of fifteen minutes, she had managed to acquire a few new scratches and become even more wet. Shippo, on the other hand, was still as wet as a dog (at least he didn't smell like one).

"You have on helluva lot of hair, kiddo." Sango said as she flicked a stray bubble off her nose. Shippo just glared up at her, looking like a small soggy rat. "I feel _so _loved." Smiling painfully now, Sango insisted, "You should, you little cute brat of mine!!!" Sango leaned back into the bathroom and pulled out a hair dryer. "One of the most genius of man's inventions," She said, motioning to the contraption, "The blow dryer!"

Shippo raised one eyebrow but consented to having his bushy hair blow-dried by an overly hyper Sango. She smiled mischievously as a plan formed, "Let's do makeovers!" She said happily, ignoring the sounds of protest coming from the small boy. "You'll look so _cute_!" Kagome shook her head as she watched Sango bouncing around collecting makeup and facial masks.

By the time the evening was over the thing tied to the beanbag chair didn't look like a boy anymore (if it did in the first place…), instead it resembled a rosy cheeked, red-headed little girl. Shippo wriggled hopelessly, trying to escape the torturous holds of Kagome and Sango, who were proceeding to hug and snuggle him until he felt like being sick.

"Aww, I wanna hug him, and snuggle him and call him fluffy!!"

"Okay, geroffme!!!" Shippo finally managed to squeak pathetically. Sango put him down, and for the umpteenth time that day, patted him on the head. She received the usual glare as soon as Shippo was out of the girl's reach.

"He's so cute, isn't he?!" Sango exclaimed to Kagome, they both fell over laughing as Shippo put on a frustrated look that made him look a little constipated, but none the less cuter that ever. This only made the two girls laugh harder, much to Shippo's frustration.

"This is some kind of heinous child abuse…" Shippo grumbled.

The next few months went by fast, but not without incident. Sango's mother brought Shippo back to the orphanage, much to Shippo's discomfort. It didn't work out, and finally she got tired of him always running away back to their house. She offered to foster him, which Sango and Kagome hoped meant that she would adopt him sooner or later.

Inu Yasha seemed to settle down and keep out of trouble, and he and Kagome became closer friends. He still didn't handle his brother as well as any of them hoped he would, and always got grumpy whenever he was mentioned, but that was not to be helped. As the weeks went on, he became more and more comfortable in Kagome's presence. She hoped that meant that he could trust her more.

Old memories seemed to be less thought about, and all Kagome could do was hope that old loves would heal, but since Kikyo was never mentioned around Inu Yasha, Kagome could never be quite sure what the status of Inu Yasha's heart was at the moment. All she could do was wish for the best.

In a blink of an eye winter was upon them and snow blanketed the ground, muffling the harsh sounds, and covering the school in a kind of silent peace that was hard to explain. The cherry tree that Kagome and her friends sat under had lost its leaves and offered no more protection to the cold high schoolers who now spent their time inside the school gym and random classrooms for lunch.

It was on one of these days that the subject of ice skating came up. The outdoor rink had opened and Kagome had been bothering Inu Yasha and Sango about it for days. She was so persistent that Inu Yasha was now trying to avoid talking to her in between classes so she wouldn't bother him anymore.

"Come on you guys, it'll be fun!" Inu Yasha stared at her, a glazed expression on his face, watching snowflakes fall on the windowsill behind Kagome. She glared menacingly at him.

"Inu Yasha," She said angrily, waving a hand in front of his face, "Are you even listening to me?" Inu Yasha snapped out of his daze quick enough to dodge Kagome's hand that was currently trying to slap him awake.

"Did you say something?" Kagome was boiling mad now, and Inu Yasha had the good sense to back away. "Deep breaths Kagome, deep breaths..." Kagome turned around, glared out the window while counting to ten. As she did so, Inu Yasha could have sworn he saw a couple of large snowflakes melt under her fiery gaze.

She whirled around to focus her glare on Sango, "YOU!" she yelled so fiercely that Sango jumped, "Your not helping! Back me up here!" Sango nodded rigorously giving Inu Yasha the "shut-up-and-work-with-me-here" look. Inu Yasha glanced at the fuming Kagome and decided to play along with Sango; it was the safest thing to do.

"I'll go with you, but I'm a horrible ice-skater." Sango informed Kagome truthfully. Kagome looked satisfied enough, but she glared over at Inu Yasha to get the point across to him too. He sighed dejectedly, "Fine, I'll go with you," Inu Yasha couldn't help adding, "But only 'cus you would bite my freaking head off if I didn't." Kagome took a deep breath and lowered her eyelids to glare harder than ever at the boy, but decided to prove him wrong and not bite his head off. "Don't look so excited Inu Yasha!" She growled at him. Okay, just a little nibble…

Inu Yasha arrived at the rink five minutes early, bundled up so much that he resembled a pillow with snow white dog ears. He had probably gained about ten to fifteen pounds of extra weight and grown a few sizes in clothing because of all the jackets and parkas that he was wearing to keep warm. He didn't like the cold.

He sat down on one of the bleacher-like benches to wait for the two girls, just to jump up in dismay to find that he had been sitting in a puddle of ice water. Inu Yasha glared menacingly at the splotch of water running its course down the leg of his jacket. _Great, _He thought exasperatedly, _I'm wet, annoyed and Kagome and Sango are gonna laughing at me. Mrfff…_

Inu Yasha half-hoped that the girls would hurry up and arrive so that he wouldn't look like a complete idiot, just a lone puffball (plus ears) sitting in the bleachers without anyone else. What kind of guy went to an ice skating rink for fun???...A lone, _gay_ puffball. Then again he also half-hoped that they would take their time so his pants could dry... _I guess I can't have my cake and eat it too. _He thought, marveling at the fact that he remembered one of those stupid sayings that never actually made all that much sense anyways.

Finally, after what seemed like a zillion years (actually only five minutes), Kagome and Sango arrived. Inu Yasha was relieved to see that they hadn't brought along the little foster brat. His pride was still wounded from his last encounter with the evil little er. He mused to himself, realizing that the first letters to the nickname he had dubbed the kid spelled ELF. Perfect…

"Inu Yasha, we're over here!" Kagome called, waving her arms in large arcs and causing a few people to turn and look at the ditzy teenager. Inu Yasha, of course, already knew she was there, but to spare himself the trouble, he decided not to grace her that knowledge.

The evening ran its course as smoothly as possible. Kagome skated almost perfectly, performing a few simple tricks and managing to teach a very unbalanced Inu Yasha how to "skate" backwards. Actually, it wasn't exactly skating; it was more of Inu Yasha edging backwards trying to avoid passing people as he wiggled his hips around trying to get some momentum. By the time he had gotten around the rink backwards a few times Inu Yasha had collected a number of interested fans who found his escapade very amusing. Needless to say, he excused himself and went to sit down, saying that he was getting tired and hot. Kagome assumed the redness of his face had nothing to do with him being hot _or_ tired.

Sango wasn't having as much luck. She was able to take a few (the record was four) steps before falling over herself onto the ice. Kagome's arms were beginning to burn from all the times she had helped her to get back up again, and Sango's backside wasn't in the best condition either, to say the least.

Inu Yasha watched as Sango made her weary and downtrodden way towards him. She sat herself down on the bench beside him, rubbing her hands together to keep warm. Inu Yasha gave her a teasing smile and she motioned to her backside. "You wanna try?" She asked, faking that she was annoyed. Inu Yasha put on a horrified face, "You wouldn't…" They both smiled and turned their gaze onto the rink.

Something caught Inu Yasha's eye. A woman with black-blue silk for hair and rich, creamy skin was flying across the ice. Her moves were fluid, simple, and graceful. Music was playing in the background, and her whole body pulsed with the beat. She _was _the music. Inu Yasha watched her in awe, unaware of the fact that Sango was looking at him strangely. "Do you-did you see-?" Inu Yasha stuttered, pointing to the woman.

Suddenly she looked up, amber met deep brown. A smile cracked on her face and the woman broke the bond with the music, skating towards the railing. "You love those moves Inu Yasha!" Kagome's voice popped the bubble of a trance that Inu Yasha was under. He realized who the woman was and was immediately horrified. Kagome? It was Kagome?

Sango was eying Inu Yasha with an amused and secretive expression on her face. Inu Yasha felt her gaze on him and turned to glare, hiding his surprise, "What?" He demanded. Sango shook her head while mumbling, "Nothing…"

Kagome, unaware of the exchange between her two friends in the bleachers, ambled her way up, tugging on Sango's arm. "Come on, let's go skating s'more!" Sango gratefully followed her, letting her eyes stray to glance up curiously to Inu Yasha again. There was confusion and something oddly like pain beneath his tense, yet innocent expression.

Inu Yasha thought hard, wondering why he was so surprised at the fact that the woman was Kagome. He hadn't noticed it, but in the back of his mind, he had imagined the face of that woman similar to Kagome's, and yet so different. This woman was older, and more serious, there was no liveliness in her smile and no girlish joy in her eyes. The image of Kikyo wavered in his mind and then vanished.

The Hanyou understood that he did not feel the sorrow that he had felt when he had let Kikyo go. He now felt only anger, anger at the one person who had ruined his perfect world: Naraku. He realized now that in the time that he had befriended Kagome, his emotions that were locked away were seeping through his sturdy barrier, and he had no idea why.

His mind was jerked back to the real world when a pained yell split the calm air. Inu Yasha picked up the scent of fresh blood; Sango's blood. His amber eyes, alert now, swept the ice until he found her. In a flash he had scaled the bleachers and headed onto the ice with ease that should not have been possible for someone who sucked at ice skating as much as he himself did.

Kagome was crouching over Sango, and Inu Yasha soon joined her, as well as the curious crowd of ice skaters. The problem was clear at once: A large, deep gash ran along the upper part of the inside of her leg. Blood spilled onto the ground and a small boy peaked out from behind his mother to announce smartly, "It looks like Kool-Aid." Inu Yasha sent the kid a glare and he shut up.

He then turned his eyes back onto the wound on Sango's leg. He realized as he looked at the cut, that it was much worse than he had originally thought. The gash ran from the middle of Sango's upper leg to her knee, and where the skin on her knee was cut, Inu Yasha could see bone. He glanced around at the curious people, infuriated.

A few children were watching, some had interested looks on their faces, others seemed about to throw up. He made a point of glaring at most of them. One girl, with short brown hair in various ponytails and an orange and yellow dress even glared back at him. She looked familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on who she was, so he continued to glare at the innocent bystanders until he couldn't take it any more.

"WILL ONE OF YOU DIMWITS COME TO YOUR SENSES LONG ENOUGH TO DIAL 911 ON ONE OF YOUR STUPID, BRAIN DAMAGING PHONES????" Inu Yasha yelled, making a young girl around his age jump rather high, causing her to fall flat on her bottom.

Her face contorted with rage as she examined the extent of the water damage on her short, pink, leather-could it even be called a skirt??? Turning her face to look up at Inu Yasha, she said in a highly preppy voice, "Omigod! You like ruined my new Gucci skirt you !!!" With that she let her hand fly, colliding with Inu Yasha's face.

"Gee, I'm just feeling the love today, ain't I?" He declared to no one in particular, rubbing his face. Luckily, one of the other spectators had used the little common sense they had and was calling 911. Inu Yasha let out a deep breath, keeping his temper under control.

"Look bitch," He told the Gucci girl, "You caught me on a bad day, leave me alone, or your little Versace purse might follow your skirt to hell." The girl nodded, looking half stunned and half frightened. She turned on her heels (which was pretty hard, since this _was_ on the ice rink and she _was _wearing four inch high stiletto heels) and scuttled away.

When he finally turned back to Sango, Kagome had torn off the lower part of her pants, so she could get at the wound. She had used some of the pant leg, and some poor person's shirt, and was stripping them into long pieces and making a temporary tourniquet for the gash.

Inu Yasha was happy that at least the flow of blood was stopped, for a while at least, but he knew he would breath a lot easier when the paramedics got there… she _had _lost a lot of blood.

So sorry this took so long, just because my teachers hate me oh so much, they have decided to pile on a crapload of homework, making me a stress case. My internet connection was also down… I do have a logical reason!!! PLEASE don't hate me!! I say I seriously need to have some time to relax. Oh, well, review to make me feel better! A happy writer makes a happy reader!!! Now off to more homework… I can hear my brain groaning already… I hope you enjoyed the fluff!! By the way… happy Turkey Day! Let's all celebrate the people who committed mass genocide to the American Indians! Wheee (I'm such a pessimist right now)!!


	10. Hospital Jitters

Hello again my nice viewers who will, after they read this chappy which I labored over for hours while I was supposed to be doing my homework, kindly review! In answer to Shesshou's Bynx/S.Wooz's nice review: you haven't missed much of my story at least! I've been out for two or three weeks (can't remember dates too well…) and haven't been updating because of my stupid internet connection. It didn't let me update!! Waaaah!! Why _me_?!

Chapter 10

Hospital Jitters

Recap of events:

Inu Yasha was happy that at least the flow of blood was stopped, for a while at least, but he knew he would breath a lot easier when the paramedics got there… she _had _lost a lot of blood.

Kagome was holding back tears. She wanted to be strong, for Sango. She didn't want Inuyasha or Sango to see her cry, but she was so scared! What if Sango died? What if she had to get her leg amputated off? Crazy ideas whizzed through her mind like a blender on high speed.

She turned to look at Inuyasha, hoping that he could give her some condolence, but he was stark white and rigid, and his face was screwed up so much would have been comical if they weren't in such a dire situation. He looked a lot like Kagome felt. Without thinking, Kagome reached out her arm and rested it on Inuyasha's leg. He looked up, startled.

"She's gonna be okay." Kagome said convincingly. She said it more to assure herself than to assure Inuyasha, but it seemed to help a little bit. Inuyasha seemed to relax and Kagome felt the muscles in his leg ease a bit. A tingling sensation shot up her arm as this happened, and she realized exactly where her hand had been resting.

She withdrew it quickly as if she had touched a hot poker. As she did so she met Inuyasha's eyes with her own. There was a small snowflake resting on one side of his nose, and Kagome reached out her hand tentatively to brush it away. Loud sirens split the air, causing the two to jump apart like to kids caught in the act of stealing a candy bar, ruining the moment.

Kagome and Inuyasha watched as an unconscious Sango was lifted onto a stretcher and carried into the waiting ambulance. In movies, whenever the main character was taken away in the ambulance, his friends were always there, in the actual car. Obviously Sango's friends didn't get the same courtesy.

As they tried to climb into the vehicle after Sango, security officers stopped them. A particularly stout one that looked as though he had a few too many doughnuts held up a hand, stopping them. "Sorry kids, you can't get in, only security officers and medics." Inuyasha didn't share the same perspective, but he held his peace, or at least Kagome held it. She tugged him away from the ambulance calling rude obscenities to the officers.

"Inuyasha," Kagome hissed, "You're going to get us arrested." Inuyasha answered by stringing together a particularly long phrase of crude words and phrases. Scowling, he gave in to Kagome's persistent dragging, but not without complaint.

"The bastards…." He said, wrinkling up his nose in disgust, "I hate policeman…" Kagome wondered if this was the only run-in that her dog-eared friend had gotten into with the police. Kagome feverishly hoped that someone else was there to hold him back.

"Come on, quit stalling!" Inuyasha interrupted her stream of thoughts. He was the person pulling them along now. Kagome wondered where they were going until they reached the parking lot. Sango and Kagome had ridden to the rink on their bikes, but apparently Inuyasha had driven.

Kagome wondered if it was even legal for Inuyasha to drive. After all, he _was _only fifteen, just like her. She followed Inuyasha to a dingy red Toyota Corolla that was rusting in various spots. _So much for a hot ride…_Kagome thought regretfully. Inuyasha patted the car lovingly. He hopped into the driver's seat and motioned for her to get in the other side.

"Inuyasha…" She said uncertainly, "I don't know, maybe I shouldn't…" She trailed off as Inuyasha locked eyes with her. "Relax Kagome, just hop in." He told her in that calm cool way. She was convinced even before he had started talking; the look in his deep, amber eyes was enough by itself.

She smiled awkwardly as she plopped down beside him in the front seat. _This can't be that bad, what could happen?_ She thought trying to force down the images of her mangled body… _ehehe…deep breaths, Kagome, deep breaths…_ Inuyasha glanced over at her, and then stuck the keys in the ignition. The car revved and Kagome's stomach did a large flip flop. _Where's my common sense in time's like these?_ She thought furiously as Inuyasha pulled haphazardly out of the parking lot.

By the time they arrived at the hospital, Kagome was hyperventilating. Inuyasha was as good a driver as he was a skater and she seriously doubted if he had _ever_ driven a car before. His sharp turns and sudden stops did nothing to calm Kagome's nervous stomach. As soon as they jerked to a stop Kagome flung herself out of the car and towards the curb where she collapsed.

As Kagome was praising solid ground, Inuyasha looked around, a picture of disgust pasted on his face. It was as if a horrible smell had passed under his nose. Kagome was in no state to notice the look because she was currently trying to get her own senses back under control.

"Hiya Kagome!" a small, high pitched voice squealed behind her. She gave a small, surprised jump as Shippo crawled into her lap. She looked at him quizzically and then around, to find Sango's mother, Ari, Standing over them looking worried.

"You heard about Sango then?" Kagome asked her, shifting Shippo into a more comfortable position on her lap.

"Yes," Ari said, nodding her dark head. She had an uncanny resemblance to Sango, and Kagome could have sworn she didn't look that much older than Sango herself. "The hospital called us on Sango's cell." Kagome smiled a little at that. Sango always had her cellphone handy wherever she went. She almost lived and breathed off the thing.

"Whazzamatter with Sango?" Shippo asked curiously, and then noticing Inuyasha's disgruntled look commented, "What crawled up your butt and died?" Ari slapped Shippo softly on the back of the head, but even she had to laugh at the look on Inuyasha's face. "ELF…" Inuyasha grumbled using his newfound term. Smiling to himself he pivoted on one foot, he made his way to the entrance of the hospital.

Inuyasha heard Kagome sigh as she heaved herself off the curb of the sidewalk, apparently over her nauseated fit. Hurried footsteps advanced on him as Kagome caught up with him. "Do you think that Sango's gonna be okay?" Kagome asked worriedly.

Inuyasha let out a little breath as he answered, almost as if he was explaining something for the hundredth time to a small child, "I dunno, why you don't go ask a doctor or something?" Inuyasha asked as he pushed open the metal doors of the hospital waiting room.

The room was stark white and smelled of sanitary cleaners and latex gloves. Kagome wrinkled her nose and almost immediately wished she were back outside. Glancing around her, she noticed that everything was eerily silent, as if in one of those silent movies; minus the over-acting and hand gestures. The people who weren't incapacitated were whispering softly or not talking at all. She shivered involuntarily.

Remembering their conversation, she turned back to Inuyasha, "I'll go ask a doctor if you come with me." She said in a whisper, afraid to break the stillness of the waiting room. An expression flitted across his face, but as soon as it was there, it was gone again. Kagome looked at him quizzically.

"What?" He demanded, a little louder than he had meant to. The desk clerk looked at him sternly as if to tell him to shut up and let her work. "What?" He repeated, quieter now. Kagome shook her head, "That look you gave me just now…" She trailed off, hinting at him to fill in the blanks.

"I…I don't like doctors, okay?" Inuyasha mumbled, his cheeks turning slightly pink. Shaking her head, Kagome managed a weak smile, "Let's go find Sango, okay?"

Sango opened her eyes to find herself in a hallway. Wait a second-a hallway??? A screen was the only thing that separated her from the other people scurrying by. Peering around the screen she started to read the sign on one of the metal doors opposite to her…_ Danger: High Radiation _and then underneath it: _X-Ray Room_. Okaaay… she strained her neck and read the next door:_ Intensive Care Unit_. _I'm in a hospital, _She thought to herself weakly, falling back heavily onto the cot. She was jolted back upright again as a pain shot through her upper thigh. Reality dawned on her as she remembered what had happened to her at the skating rink.

Slowly, as not to agitate her wound, she lifted the crisp, white sheet covering her legs. Her leg was bandaged heavily and there was no sign of blood. She sighed inwardly. She could handle bloody movies, yet she was squeamish when it came to cuts, scratches and anything nasty, including the discovery channel specials on surgery… She would never be the same after that.

"Feeling a little better?" A male voice asked from somewhere near her head. Pulling the blankets down quickly (because that hospital robe didn't cover much) and turned around as fast as she could without severely hurting herself. She glared up at a fairly young man in a doctor's robe, holding a clipboard.

"I'm Assistant Doctor Koga and I will be overseeing your surgery today!" He said cheerfully. Sango looked at him warily, "Surgery?" She asked. Koga patted her on the shoulder and said reassuringly, "You only have to get a few stitches, that's all!" Sango's eye twitched but she kept her composure long enough for Koga to excuse himself to go tend to another patient.

_Great_, she thought sarcastically, _I get to have the **assistant** doctor, and I get to have stitches… fun fun! _She felt so unloved. That dude was definitely an intern, which meant that he had to be in his early twenties. This meant one thing: She was being treated by someone fresh out of college, no hands-on experience whatsoever. Great, just great.

"Hiya Sango!" Shippo squealed as he bounced by her cot. Ari picked him up and held him so that Shippo didn't have to jump to see over the doctor's table/cot which was about twice his size. Sango smiled and reached over to pat his head, earning the routine scowl. "Hey, Shippo," She said weakly, "Guess what? I get to have stitches!" Sango said, not trying to hard not to sound sarcastic.

Ari sighed, and her face relaxed a little more. "Good, good…how many?" Sango bobbed her head back and forth, "I have not clue, but I guess we'll find out sooner or later." Just then a silver-haired boy with a snow hat placed precariously over his large ears and a girl with long, black hair stopped just short of the bed.

"Sango," Kagome said urgently rushing over to the bed, "Are you okay? I'm so sorry, this was all my fault! I shouldn't have…" She babbled on and Sango looked past her to Inuyasha. He smiled a little at Kagome's rambling and did a small wave. Sango manage to wave back, rolling her eyes at Kagome.

"Ugh, what's that smell?" Inuyasha asked, sickened. Assistant Doctor Koga rounded the corner, carrying his clipboard and chewing the end of a pen, examining some papers carefully. When he looked up, he noticed Sango's visitors. "Great," He said, mumbling a little because of the pen still lodged in his mouth, "Now that you have gotten here Mrs…" Koga looked up at Ari.

"Arakawa, Mrs. Arakawa."

"Thank you," Koga said, looking up from his papers a moment, "Now, can you sign here, here and here?"

AAARRGGHH!!! It's that time of year again folks. The thing that everyone paranoid of "family togetherness time" dreads: the holidays. Therefore a lot of these next three or four weeks I will be incapacitated (which means no new chappies!!). Instead of writing for you, I will be gaining weight (I see the scale crumpling already…) off of those little white rolls of buttery-goodness (If I stuff my face, I an avoid talking to my relatives…), and give thanks and blessings for all of the lovely things that grace this world. Have I already mentioned that I am a major pessimist??? Urggh…

I _will _try as hard as I can to gain access to the computer, but will probably be dragged out of my safe haven by the hair by my evil relatives of doom so I can "tell them about school!" I apologize in advance if I hardly update through the month of December. Please don't take it personally!!


	11. Assistant Doctor Koga

Bri Rose32, DestinyManifested, Dark firestorm you guys rock!! Yay, you put me on your author watchy thingy!

Arrrgggghhh!!!! Holidays already and what am I doing? Stuck at home within five feet of the keyboard but deprived of the computer… this is sooo evil… Yes, my friends, my foes and my other readers who don't fall under either category, I have no way to get onto the computer because my mother has decided to work the _whole entire_ thanksgiving and Christmas break! And to add insult to injury, not only does she work at home, but she ends work at six o'clock.

I also have to wake up early _every _day, do a shit-load (pardon the swearing) of chores and am only allowed one crappy hour of television! It's the holidays for crying out loud! This SUCKS!!!! Dark firestorm, you poor poor thing. I totally feel your pain hands "relative obliterator stick of doom", have fun! Okay, on with the story:

Recap:

"Ugh, what's that smell?" Inuyasha asked, sickened. Assistant Doctor Koga rounded the corner, carrying his clipboard and chewing the end of a pen, examining some papers carefully. When he looked up, he noticed Sango's visitors. "Great," He said, mumbling a little because of the pen still lodged in his mouth, "Now that you have gotten here Mrs…" Koga looked up at Ari.

"Arakawa, Mrs. Arakawa."

"Thank you," Koga said, looking up from his papers a moment, "Now, can you sign here, here and here?"

Chapter 11

Intern Doctor Koga

Kagome tapped Inuyasha cautiously on the shoulder, he was as rigid as a board and his face wasn't that of someone who was remotely enjoying himself. "Are you okay?" Shrugging her hand off his shoulder, he grunted and turned away, walking down the hallway.

"I'm going home." He huffed moodily. Kagome was about to let him go before she remembered that she had no way of transportation to get home if Inuyasha left. Ari and Shippo were probably going to spend the night with Sango after her operation and Kagome needed to get home and get a good night's sleep.

As Inuyasha rounded the sanitized white corner, Kagome sprang into action, almost barreling over the young doctor in the process. She heard him give a shout, but she needed Inuyasha to stay, so it didn't matter what one doctor thought about her. She yelled after him, "Wait Inuyasha!!!" This earned yet another yell from Dr. Koga.

"What do you want?" He asked agitatedly. His nervousness was gone now and in its place was frustration and anger. Kagome squinted at him, wondering what was wrong. "What happened back there," She suddenly became suspicious, "Do you know that guy from somewhere?" Inuyasha shook his head, but refused to look at her.

"Look, I just don't like doctors and that guy…" He trailed off, "I dunno, I don't like him… that's all." With that he turned to leave again, but Kagome placed a firm hand on his shoulder, "Look at you, one minute you're mister tough-guy and the next you're some whimpering sissy, geez, it's not that bad Inuyasha!"

As soon as she said it, she regretted it, Inuyasha didn't deserve to be criticized, he had had it bad enough already. She was the weak one. "I'm… sorry… I didn't-" Inyasha cut her off, "Whatever, it doesn't matter. Do you want a ride home?" Kagome nodded, and then went to go tell Sango's mother where she was going. She tried not to look Dr. Koga in the eye, because she _was _pretty embarrassed about how she had acted now that she thought about it.

"I'll come by tomorrow, okay?" She asked, feeling a little guilty that she wasn't staying with Sango during her surgery. Sango nodded distantly, too distraught by the imposing surgery to worry about Kagome's comings and goings.

"I hope you know that you're welcome any time," Dr. Koga cut in, finally making eye contact with her. Kagome looked at him curiously noticing that his eyes were not slanted, nor was his hair the regular Japanese color, it was a lighter brown. In fact, he did not seem oriental at all; he looked European, or possibly American… She nodded at him and lowered her eyes; he wasn't too bad looking either.

When he spoke again, Kagome noticed that he had an audible accent-definitely American. "I look forward to seeing you soon Ms…" Glancing over at Ari (Who was watching the scene curiously, a little smile on her face) and back, Kagome finished for him, "Kagome, Kagome Higurashi." _Is this guy hitting on me???_ She though furiously, inching away slowly and looking for an escape route.

Kagome quickly said goodbye and wished Sango luck on her surgery. As much as she wanted to see Sango, she hoped Dr. Koga wasn't there when she came back.

Ari thanked Kagome and she made her way back through the steel, too-clean and somewhat uninviting doors to Inuyasha's waiting car. It was leaking small blue clouds of noxious gas from under the hood. Kagome made a mental note to get Inuyasha a tune-up for his birthday; boy did his car need it.

"Hey," She breathed as she slipped into the car beside Inuyasha, "Thanks for taking me home." Inuyasha rewarded her with a short nod and started to pull the car out of the parking lot. Kagome suddenly remembered her bike, which had been left on the bike rack of the skating rink.

"Umm, Inuyasha," She began cautiously, trying not to push her luck, "Could you by any chance get my bike as well?" Inuyasha let out an exasperated sigh, but nodded his head curtly again. Smiling cutely she said, "Thank you Inuyasha."

"Yeah, yeah, you owe me…"

Kagome hopped out of the car, bike keys jangling, towards the now empty skating rink. Making her way to the rack where her bicycle was locked up, she bent down to flick in her combination. As she did so she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. It felt as though someone else was there, watching her.

She turned around, eyes darting across the scene behind her. An eerie, silent emptiness met her. A lone soda can rolled across the sidewalk, adding to the creepy atmosphere. Shivering, she quickly unlocked her bike and rolled it over to Inuyasha's car.

He popped open the trunk and she stuffed the bike in. It fit, but just barely. Jumping back into the car, Kagome caught Inuyasha mumble resentfully about how slow some people were. She brushed off the comment and took one last look behind her as the car screeched dangerously out of the lot.

Standing on the corner was a young girl in an orange and yellow dress and a bunch of messy ponytails looking thoughtfully at the fast disappearing car. For a second she thought that she had seen another, taller figure flit across her vision, but when she blinked, both girl and shadow were gone.

Kagome blinked the sleep out of her eyes as she tried to keep her them in focus. Light was streaming in through her window, making streaking patterns on her floor from her blinds. Glancing over at her clock, she tried to make out the blurry neon numbers. Ten thirty.

She dragged her feet out of their cozy, warm enclosure out into the crisp air. Though it was sunny, the weather was cold because it was still winter and Kagome always despised the cold, especially in the mornings.

Pulling on a sweatshirt and some tight jeans, she went into the bathroom, coming out only when she was satisfied that she looked pretty much presentable. Pretty much were the key words there. Though 10:30 was late on her standards- though she wasn't an early riser she didn't sleep forever-she was still quite tired because of their late night escapade. It was about two in the morning before she had finally crawled into her bed and went to sleep.

The ride over to the hospital was shorter than the ride to the ice skating rink, but it seemed to take longer because of the cold air threatening to surround and freeze Kagome. When she finally arrived at the hospital, Kagome was convinced that her lips had turned completely blue, and her fingers were almost completely frozen over the handlebars of her bicycle.

Shivering she entered those ominous steel door for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. The hospital, though a little warmer, was still quite chilly and Kagome cursed the fact that she had not brought along earmuffs and mittens.

Walking up to the receptionist at the desk, Kagome asked, "Where is Sango Arakawa's room located?" The receptionist looked up at her coldly. _Geez, the people at this hospital sure are friendly,_ she thought sarcastically."Visiting hours are from 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Please come back in-" the woman looked up at the clock, "-forty-seven minutes." Then the woman briskly turned away to deal with a small boy who looked as though he had tried to see how long he could stick a fork into an electrical socket.

"But, can't I see her now? I got to last night and that was at like-midnight!" Kagome protested a little too loudly. The child (the stupid one with the fork and the electrical socket…) and his mother turned to look at Kagome and she blushed slightly. The receptionist turned too, and glared down at her. "That was because you were _bringing _her to the hospital, not _visiting_." She said matter-of-factly.

"But-" Kagome stuttered. She tried to think of a witty comeback, but failed to find anything to say. She never was good at comebacks. Sighing, she walked dejectedly over to a lumpy looking couch, and was about to sit down when she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"I'm sure, Ms. Sen, that it wouldn't hurt to let this nice young lady see her friend, would it?" The receptionist seemed hung up between the rules and the young, _handsome_, doctor. Finally she nodded, shooting Kagome a look that said: _'nice young lady'? Hmf. _But she let Kagome pass through the second set of doors after Dr. Koga.

"It's so nice to see you again Ms. Kagome!" Dr. Koga remarked as he looked over his chart, probably searching for Sango's room. Kagome rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably, "Yeah, I guess… So, how's Sango?" She asked abruptly, changing the subject.

"Very well, though I must admit, she put up quite a fight when it was time for the stitches." Kagome laughed, wishing she could have been there to see what had happened. She hoped that Sango had gotten in a few punches before they got her under control.

"She scratched a few nurses, bit one, and punched me in the nose," Koga said, counting on his fingers. Kagome looked up at his face to notice a large purple bruise spread across the right side of his nose. She snorted and shook her head, "That's Sango alright."

Dr. Koga fingered his nose as he added, "We finally had to put her under with general anesthetic, then we got her sewed up." Kagome smiled, not feeling too sorry for Sango, but more towards the hospital staff. They stopped abruptly in front of a stainless steel door labeled: _Room 128 _and underneath it on a hand-written card slipped into a slot on the door: _Arakawa, Sango_.

"Ah, here we are, she should be awake by now." Koga smiled warmly at Kagome who blushed and slipped into the room, closing the door quickly behind her. She heaved a sigh of relief to be away from the American doctor. It wasn't that she didn't like the doctor, it was just that she had a fleeting suspicion that he was hitting on her the whole time.

"A breach of medical law I tell you!" Sango complained to her mother and Kagome, "Isn't there something that says that you can't put someone under drugs unless their legal guardian okays it?!" Ari and Kagome were trying hard to keep straight faces as they listened to Sango's testimony.

"Honey," Ari said hesitantly, "I _did_ sign the papers that said they had full medical responsibility over you. I _gave_ them permission." Sango glared at her mother and then at Kagome, looking for support. Kagome gave her an apologetic look, and Sango slitted her eyes to glare at the two of them. "Traitors," She mumbled, clenching her fists, "As soon as I'm out of this hospital bed, you are _so _gonna pay…"

"You have to be on crutches for a week though, Sango." Kagome pointed out happily. Sango glared at the two before huffily pulling the cover over her head, "You guys are supposed to be cheering me up. Do something useful, like bringing me a mocha or something."

Ari took this chance to scamper out of the room. Kagome glared at her retreating back and then looked back at Sango. She had a mischievous, naughty look on her face.

"What?" Kagome asked suspiciously.

Sango let out an evil laugh, "That assistant doctor was _totally _hitting on you!" Kagome blushed a deep crimson as she tried to argue weakly, "I don't know… he's too old for me anyways." Sango just laughed, and pointed at Kagome. "You're blushing; you think he's hot, huh?"

"NO!" Kagome yelled playfully, tossing a pillow at Sango's face, "I do _NOT_ think he's hot!" Sango wasn't done with the accusations yet, however. "You have your hopes on someone else than," She asked impishly, "Maybe a certain Inuyasha?"

Kagome's blush deepened and she looked at the ground. "No," She muttered, trying to keep her voice from cracking, "Is it that obvious?" She asked Sango, looking up at her friend. Sango shook her head, "No, not unless you pay attention to details, then it's pretty obvious."

Kagome had mixed emotions. It seemed as though a great weight had been taken from her, but she was also worried, worried that Sango might let slip her feelings. "Don't you _dare_ tell, you hear!" Sango laughed and swore that she wouldn't, but Kagome hoped the promise was not soon forgotten.

Kagome sat on the edge of Sango's bed for the next couple hours talking and gossiping trying to keep Sango occupied. Ari hadn't come back and Kagome had a sneaking suspicion that she had made a run for it. Ari wasn't your regular mother; she had had Sango very early, when she was sixteen or seventeen, and so she was closer to an older sister than to a mother. At times she could be immature and teenager-ish, but when it all came down to it, she was a good mother nonetheless.

"So, what's up with that doctor anyways?" Kagome asked, half to herself. Sango, who was flipping through the news channels (apparently the hospitals hadn't discovered the wonders of digital cable…), looked up at Kagome. A small one-sided grin that she always wore when she was about to tell some juicy secret crept across her face. "Well… He's from New York-isn't that so cool, New York? Okay, well anyways, he's doing this internship because all of the doctors need that crud to start working for real… you know to go on their resume so they look good and all…"

"So he _is _from America," Kagome interrupted, "I knew it! Americans sure are weird…" Sango nodded absently and added, "I guess if you live in a country where your president's mind works similar to that of a hamster you become a little bit idiotic yourself."

"I don't think he's that much of an idiot…just-" She paused, "-weird." Kagome realized too late that she had sounded a little too protective than she had meant. Sango looked at her curiously from underneath her long bangs. "Really Kagome, is that so?" She said mysteriously. Kagome tried not to giggle, but Sango's hilarious impression of a cross between the girl from _The Ring_ and Cousin It was just too funny.

The two girls broke down, laughing hysterically, stopping, and laughing at the fact that they had stopped laughing. In the middle of the two girls' laughing extravaganza, a certain silver-haired someone made himself comfortable in a chair near the bed, waiting for someone to notice him.

Finally, after he realized that the girls weren't going to (A) stop laughing anytime soon or (B) notice him, he clear his throat loudly. "Excuse me, pardon my rudeness but-" The man was cut off by a scream from the girl in the bed, "How the hell did you get in here and who the hell are you?"

Ahhh, I finally had the chance to sit down and finish this chapter! I'm so happy! All of the people reading this story probably have totally lost interest now!! Damn! Well, if you're still there out there somewhere, be patient, please! I don't own my own computer so until I do, I might not be very consistent, but I promise that I _will_ finish this story! Thanks so much for your support!


	12. Emotions Run Amok

Disclaimer: No, though it would rock if I did, I don't own 'Simple and Clean', or for that matter, Inuyasha. Doesn't life just suck?

Hello again peoples!!! No, I didn't die, but I am still stuck without computer. What? How did I get on to write this you ask? Actually guilty look it's the middle of the night… if my parents find out about this I am sooo dead. This is how much I love my readers so you guys better review… just joking

Anyways, I need to explain to you one thing, Chapter 11 was the last chapter of the first part of my fic. I split the song 'Simple and Clean' (or 'Hikari' in Japan) up into four parts. Part one was this part of the song (If you don't want to read this you can skip it, I just wanted to give you all some background info):

_When you walk away, _

_You don't hear me say,_

_Please-don't go,_

_Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel,_

_Tonight_

_It's hard to let it go…_

This was through Inuyasha's perspective, talking about Kikyo. The second part, which I'm starting with this chapter, is this:

_You're giving me,_

_Too many things-lately,_

_You're all I need,_

_You smiled at me,_

_And said: _

_Don't get me wrong I love you,_

_But does that mean I have to meet,_

_Your father?_

_When we are older you'll understand,_

_What I meant when I said no,_

_I don't think life is quite that simple,_

This is through Kagome's perspective about Inuyasha. It becomes clearer what this means in later chapters, it might not fit exactly, but it works. Now that I have successfully bored you, here's the new chapter!

Recap:

Finally, after he realized that the girls weren't going to 1) stop laughing anytime soon or 2) notice him, he cleared his throat loudly. "Excuse me, pardon my rudeness but-" The man was cut off by a scream from the girl in the bed, "How the hell did you get in here and who the hell are you?"

Chapter 12

Emotions Run Amok

The man sighed and looked up at the ceiling waiting patiently while the two girls stopped shrieking like overgrown cockatiels. Lowering his carefully sculpted chin and brushing his product pampered, silver hair off of his shoulders, he glared at the two girls menacingly. That shut them up _real _fast.

Clearing his throat, he started to talk, "As I was saying, is one of you-" He paused to take out a slip of paper, "-Kagome Higurashi?" He asked elegantly holding the card up with his index and middle fingers, flicking it ever so slightly.

Kagome raised her hand suspiciously, trying to remember where she knew the strange man from. Sango shifted in the bed next to her, "Oh-my-god." She breathed, "You're…" She stopped dramatically taking a deep breath and turning to look at Kagome, then back at the man, "Sesshomaru!!! Ayee!!!"

Sesshomaru raised his eyebrow at Sango (who was currently squealing and bouncing around on the bed, despite her stitches) and then brought his gaze to a stop at Kagome. "You are an acquaintance of my half-brother Inuyasha, are you not?" He asked in his smooth, mysterious voice.

Kagome nodded, wondering what in his right mind, Sesshomaru, the world-famous fashion designer, was doing-talking to _her_. "Yeah, we're-uh-friends." She said, wondering to herself for the umpteenth time if 'friend' was the right word to use.

"Yes, then you must know the location of my troublesome little brother?" He asked, pursing his lips and waiting for a reply. Kagome marveled at the sheer difference in the two brothers. Inuyasha was loud spoken and roughly dressed, on the other hand, Sesshomaru spoke like someone cultured and well-mannered, and his attire was leagues better than Inuyasha's excuse for clothing.

"Uhh, yeah, he lives around downtown at…" She stopped, trying to recall Inuyasha's address. Then she started to become suspicious, "Why do you want to know where Inuyasha lives, anyway?" She demanded, leaning forward to look at Sesshomaru more closely.

"He has something that belongs to me, I would like it back." He said simply, no emotion showing on his placid face. Kagome couldn't tell if the aristocrat was telling the truth or lying through his perfectly white, straightened teeth. So, she did the only thing she could do, and followed the first moral that came to mind:

_When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout!_

"HELP US!!! THERE'S A HENTAI IN ROOM 128!!! SAVE US!!!" Sesshomaru gave Kagome one last menacing glare and sprinted out of the room in a blur of silver and a furry boa. Slumping back into the chair after she had tired herself out dashing around, she slapped her hands together and grinned, "Well that takes care of that!"

"Why'd you do that, Kagome," Sango asked with a pout, "We actually got a chance to talk to him and you killed it…" Kagome patted her sorrowful friend on the back, "Trust me Sango-it was dead to begin with."

Then Koga burst in. _Great, just what I need right now, _Kagome sighed inwardly, sitting up in her chain and looking as innocent as possible. "Oh, hi Dr. Koga!" Kagome said in a sickly sweet voice, "Did you want something?" Koga looked confused as he looked from one girl to the other.

"Didn't you just… weren't you the ones who… what?"

"Oh, you must be talking about the yelling!" Kagome said naively, "Everything's okay now, he ran off once we yelled." Koga, now looking less confused and more worried, asked, "So you're all right, Kagome?"

"Oh thanks, forget about the patient, why don't ya." Sango grumbled from her hospital bed as Kagome tried to keep a straight face. "Sure, doctor, I'm totally fine."

"Great!" The assistant doctor said sounding relieved, "Just call me if there's any more trouble, okay?" Kagome nodded, and then decided to make her escape. She knew Sango would rat her out for it later, but she couldn't wait to get home to call Inuyasha and get away from Koga.

"Y'know, I think I'll be getting home now," She said, glancing apologetically at Sango, "See you guys later!" With her goodbye statement she barreled out the door hoping for a clear way to the exit. But almost immediately after she rounded the corner, Koga caught up with her.

"Can I drive you home Kagome?" He asked smoothly, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. Embarrassed by the gesture, Kagome blushed, lowering her eyes. "Umm," She stuttered, hoping whatever came out of her mouth next didn't dig her deeper into this humiliating situation. "Okay, sure."

_Dammit_.

The car that Koga drove was certainly a lot more stylish than Inuyasha's. Kagome kept trying to remind herself that looks weren't the only thing that counted, but… that blue, shiny, two-seater convertible with a built in CD player kept convincing her otherwise.

She had always secretly wanted to ride in a convertible, here long black hair blowing in the wind, looking like a supermodel. Anyways, what harm could one ride do? Koga was a doctor for crying out loud, what could happen?

Slipping into the car as supermodel-ishly as possible, she took a deep breath. The car smelled of leather and also a faint something that might have been cologne. Settling into the comfortable seat, she looked over at Koga was finding her house on a local map.

After about five minutes, the doctor put the map into the glove compartment and glanced at Kagome, "All set?" He asked, not waiting for a reply as he started up the car. They whizzed out of the parking lot, and Kagome thanked the gods that Koga could at least drive better than a certain someone.

The only downside was the fact that her long hair didn't blow out behind her like she had imagined. Instead it blew out around her face, whipping her cheeks and flying across her vision. The whole ride was spent trying to keep her hair under control.

When they arrived at her house, Kagome spotted a tall silhouette standing under the arch to the shrine. As Koga pulled up to the sidewalk to let Kagome out, she strained to see the person's face. Squinting, she recognized Inuyasha. So did Koga. "Do you want me to walk you to your house Kagome," He asked a little louder than was necessary, "You don't know who's lurking in the shadows."

Kagome shook her head and thanked Koga, reassuring him that she was fine and that she could probably make it to her door (Which was about thirty-some odd feet away) without getting herself kidnapped. As he drove off she waved at Inuyasha.

His gaze was pinched and when he spoke his voice betrayed his annoyance, "Why were you with that doctor?" He spit out the last word as if it was poison on his tongue, "Were you on a date?" Kagome brushed off the remark, punching Inuyasha playfully in the shoulder, "You jealous?" She asked, meaning for it to be a joke.

"I don't know." Was the quiet reply.

Changing the subject to avoid whatever was making her so uncomfortable, she told Inuyasha about Sesshomaru's visit to the hospital. Inuyasha was livid. "What?" He demanded, "Is he accusing me of stealing? That bastard!" Kagome bit her lip, wishing that she hadn't mentioned it, "Calm down Inuyasha! I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding!"

"Yeah, just like it's a misunderstanding that you were on a date with that doctor scum…" Inuyasha grumbled, looking away from Kagome. "It wasn't a date!" She argued, "He was just driving me home!"

"What would Hojo say?" Inuyasha asked, quieter now, "He _is _your boyfriend isn't he?" Kagome searched for something to counter Inuyasha's last statement. All she could manage was a weak, "It's not at all like that Inuyasha…"

He grunted and turned his back towards the upset girl, "Whatever, see you at school tomorrow." With that he walked off down the block to his car. Kagome just stood there, frozen, watching him drive off into the blood red sunset. Clenching her fists and tearing her eyes away from the road, she told herself that she hated Inuyasha and wished he would just leave her alone. _He_ was the one with all of the girls hanging off of him like he was a god, boys didn't d that to _her_.

_Then why is it that I can't wait until Monday?_

_I can't wait until Monday; _Sango thought peacefully, _I wonder what Miroku's doing now…_she sipped on the mocha that her mother had finally arrived with, remembering. It had all been a dream, and when it was over, it seemed like it had never happened to begin with. Just a story her mind had made up to fill in a gap where something big, good or bad, hadn't happened.

She was fourteen and he was sixteen. They had dated about a year, and then he had moved. Then, a little less than four years later, he ended up as her substitute art teacher at her new school. What were the odds in that? _I know who he is, but does he even recognize me? _She wondered, knowing that he probably forgot all about her when he had moved.

They had broken up because they knew that a long distance relationship just wasn't going to work out, and yet Sango had always resented letting him go. She never forgot Miroku, and years after he moved, she still didn't feel comfortable when dating other people besides him. It was as if she had let a piece of herself leave with him…

A knock on the door woke her from her thoughts. "Yes?" She called, hoping that it wasn't another doctor coming to reapply bandages or force hospital food down her throat. A familiar voice answered, "Can I come in?" Sango tried to place the voice, it was male, but it wasn't a doctor, and it certainly wasn't her father. "Sure, come on in," She recognized it, "Miroku."

She watched apprehensively as the door opened slowly and the young man slipped in. He smiled secretively as he produced a single yellow rose from behind his back, "I heard about what happened from your mother," He explained, surveying the hospital room, "She called to let us know in advance about how you wouldn't be able to make it to school tomorrow." _That's right; I won't be going to school tomorrow,_ Sango realized with a slight twinge.

"Wow, Mom actually was a responsible parent for once!" Sango joked, covering her disappointment. She remembered how Miroku had always laughed about the fact that Ari was so much like a teenager herself. As she watched Miroku, Sango realized with regret that he showed no signs of remembering anything of the past. She decided this wasn't the right time to mention it.

"Well," Miroku butt in, "I just came to wish you well and deliver your homework for Art class, so I should be going now." He leaned over the hospital bed haphazardly to hand Sango the lone rose, but lost his footing and fell straight at the poor girl. Before either of them knew what was happening, their lips were locked together in an accidental kiss, and the two of them were both grasping the other's hand for support.

Surprised, Sango tore away from Miroku, breathing fast and heavy. She could feel herself blushing a deep crimson as she realized that he hadn't let go of her hand yet. Miroku dropped his hand unromantically, clumsily placing a small pile of papers on her bedside table. Sango could tell that he too was blushing.

Raising his head confidently, as if the last few minutes had not even happened, Miroku brushed a few stray stands of hair behind his ear and said cheerfully, "Well I hope you feel better soon, Sango!" Sango watched, still in a state of shock, as the substitute teacher walked quickly from her room.

She slumped back down on her pillows with a confused sigh.

_What in the world just happened?_

That's it for today; hope you enjoyed all of the fluff (my pal Aurora-thorn's word for romantic moments)! I really want to put more fluff into my story (and no, not the lemony, hentai-ish fluff either cringe), so maybe in later chapters… Anyways, I'll be gone all next week, so I might not be writing again until about the 20th of December. That means that no updates anytime soon, so sorry folks!!! Don't kill me okay? Until next time, jya mata ne (bye for now)!


	13. Alone Again

Urrggghh… I am not feeling that great right now. Actually, the only reason I'm on the computer is because my mother is currently out of word because apparently she sprained her shoulder and can't pick up the phone… gee, I guess that's why you've been chatting with your friends, for what, three hours now? Yeah, well, I have this terrible head cold, and have tissue permanently jammed up my nose to keep it from running. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter; I'm off for another bowl of chicken noodle soup… why am I the only one who gets sick all the time?

Recap:

Raising his head confidently, as if the last few minutes had not even happened, Miroku brushed a few stray stands of hair behind his ear and said cheerfully, "Well I hope you feel better soon, Sango!" Sango watched, still in a state of shock, as the substitute teacher walked quickly from her room.

She slumped back down on her pillows with a confused sigh.

_What in the world just happened?_

Chapter 13

Alone Again

Kagome waited patiently in English class, shooting furtive glances over at Inuyasha every five minutes. She was happy it was the last class of the day; it had been unusually awkward between her and the boy. She had hoped he would just brush off their fight, but he seemed genuinely hurt by the whole encounter. He never even glanced over her direction the entire class, and instead stared straight ahead, eyes unfocused.

When the bell finally rang, Kagome hefted her back quickly over her shoulder, and as fast as she could without falling over sideways, (Her bag _was _a little too heavy for her) and jetted over to Inuyasha. "Hey," She said softly, unsure if he had noticed her or if he was just ignoring her, "Look, I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean for it to turn out the way it did." Kagome looked up at Inuyasha's face, hoping for an expression of some sort.

All she got was an ice-cold stare. "What's your problem Kagome? What do you need me for, why don't you go flirt with that doctor instead of wasting your time on someone like me?" He asked viciously, glaring at the girl. Kagome jerked her head down, breaking her gaze at Inuyasha. Before she realized what was happening, hot tears sprang from her eyes, blurring her vision. She could feel them racing down her cheek, blazing trails for the next stream of tears to follow.

At this Inuyasha panicked, "No, don't cry Kagome, I didn't mean it _that _way!"

Kagome forced her chin up to look up at the alarmed boy, "That's just it Inuyasha! You did mean it that way! I don't live up to your expectations, do I?" She paused for a moment, taking a breath. Lowing her voice menacingly, she continued, "Well I have news for you, I'm not the person you thought I was because I'm not Kikyo, am I? Don't think of me knowing who Kikyo, how she acted; think of me knowing who Kagome _is_!"

Inuyasha froze. She could see right through him. He had never mentioned anything about how different the two were, but he realized now that whatever Kagome did, he compared to Kikyo. Every phrase, smile and laugh was recorded in his mind, comparing it robotically to Kikyo, scanning over the defects meticulously, scrutinizing every wrongness. Inuyasha ran his hand through his hair uncomfortably, looking at Kagome. Was she the wrongness? Or was his perspective the thing that was skewed? He didn't know. Kagome wasn't crying anymore, but a look of rage had replaced her sad one. As much as he didn't like to see Kagome cry, he had to admit, this mood wasn't much better.

"Kagome, I thought I had gotten over Kikyo," Inuyasha started off hesitantly, "But the more I'm with you, the more I'm reminded of her. You both are so different, but sometimes I see her in you… something you say, an expression, or-" Kagome cut him off fiercely, "I don't care about that, I am who I am and no one can change that!" She sighed sadly and busied herself with unlocking her bike from the bike rack, "Look Inuyasha, I think it's better if we took a break from each other for a while. This is too much for me to handle. After a while, we can try to start over, but I can't be around you anymore, not for right now at least."

With that the girl hopped on her bike, and pedaled away, leaving a confused Inuyasha in her emotional wake. He just stood there, watching her figure grow smaller and smaller until it disappeared altogether. He started walking, all emotions steadily draining from him altogether. He was walking in the opposite direction of her. Who was she really? Had he ever taken the time to get to know her? _I'm taking the opposite road now… _he couldn't help thinking that it was as much an emotional road as a physical road.

_Who do I choose?_

By the time Kagome had gotten halfway to the shrine her face was soaked in tears. The wind blew harshly against her unprotected face, and she shivered as it dried the briny droplets, leaving behind the salty trails that coated her face. _Who am I to him? _Kagome thought sadly, knowing the answer. She was just a girl, a face in a sea of other, unimportant faces. She would never measure up to Kikyo, and the knowledge graced her face with new tears to replace the old ones. Did she even want to take Kikyo's place? Or did she want to make a place of her own?

She parked her bike inside the shrine and crept up to her room, trying to make as little noise as possible, and yet hoping that someone would hear her and come to comfort her. However much she wished for condolence, it never came. She had no idea how long she sat there, but when she finally got into bed, the moon had already finished half of its journey across the sky.

She pulled the blankets up to her chin and rolled onto her side, leaving a damp spot on her pillow where her tears fell. _'After a while, we can try to start over…' _would they really start over? Or had she broken whatever fragile bond they had? Inuyasha's confused face was cemented into her head…

_What happens now?_

Inuyasha sat on the corner of his roll-out sofa bed. He breathed in the smell of the house; old and musty and familiar. Even the smells that calmed him could not bring back the warmth that had flooded out of his heart. It was if someone had pulled out the stopper in the bathtub and let all of the water drain out. His mind was still frozen. He felt no emotions at all. It was as if somehow time had stopped altogether and he was stuck in some kind of suspended reality. He kept replaying what had happened that afternoon over and over in his head and yet it still hadn't fully sunk in.

Somehow, he managed to roll into bed, clothes and all. He stared impassively at the moon, halfway through the sky, and wondered what Kagome was doing at that moment. Was she thinking of him? He impulsively wiped his eyes to find that they were damp. He pulled the covers over his head to hide the tears from the moon… and from his heart.

Alone, he was alone again.

I am such a slow writer and to add insult to injury, I am also a procrastinator… shame shame! Okay, well, I hope I'll have more time in the future to write more, don't give up on me just yet!

**Hikura-Werewolf Assassin**: Aww, I feel special that you reviewed (twice!)! Don't apologize! Wow, I haven't really watched Seinfeld, but since it was such a hit, I am totally flattered! Hmmm… on your question… Kikyo will definitely have her moments, but I'm still deciding on how I should portray her. Are you a Kikyo fan (I am… Cringes as readers throw large metal objects at head WHY is that such a bad thing???). Also, I'm sure Sango got her revenge in other ways (i.e. guess who gets to change the bedpan?) grin. Also, sorry for the typo, I re-updated with the actual date (the 20th of December) (after this update…). You know someone loves your story when you are threatened with rabid gophers… grin

P.S. Thank you for putting me on your favorites!! Yay!


	14. Reminiscence

I know, I know… I've been gone forever and you guys have given up on hoping I was alive and started instead to hope I was dead… SOB I've just got sooo much going on, I am SOOO SORRY!!! Please forgive me!!! I got sick yet again, and on Christmas too! First it was the sore throat, then the coughing, and now sneezing! I feel like a humanoid hose. Oh, well. I know that my feeble excuse for an apology is less than satisfying, but maybe this chapter will help?

Recap:

Somehow, he managed to roll into bed, clothes and all. He stared impassively at the moon, halfway through the sky, and wondered what Kagome was doing at that moment. Was she thinking of him? He impulsively wiped his eyes to find that they were damp. He pulled the covers over his head to hide the tears from the moon… and from his heart.

Alone, he was alone again.

Chapter 14

Reminiscence

The alarm clock rang again that morning as it had every morning since the day school had started. The same call for her to get out of bed, never failing to do the job it was made for. It comforted her that at least one thing in her upside down life had stayed the same.

Kagome's eyes felt bloodshot and it was as though she had stayed too long in a chlorinated pool without goggles. Her stomach rumbled uncomfortably, reminding her of the meal she had missed the night before. She slipped on her school uniform, which had been lying haphazardly on the floor and tried halfheartedly to smooth out the wrinkles. Giving up on the task, she shuffled down the stairs.

Eyes half open, Kagome stumbled as she walked, bracing herself against the cold walls. She didn't feel the cold. She was numb from the inside out. A single tear rolled down her unprotected cheek, and as it engraved its salty path down her skin, feeling flowed back into her heart.

She wished feverently that it hadn't, for the moment it arrived, a dull pain lodged itself into her chest. She had never felt anything quite like it before, and the sensation confused and baffled her. She plunged into a dark mood as she realized yet another new and unusual thing had altered more of her dismally depressing excuse for a life.

Searching for a solution to the unusual throb in her heart, she probed her own mind. The answer was there, behind a closed door, the lock far from her reach. She stretched her mind for clarification, dejectedly pulling away when she realized she could not breach the walls of her own psyche.

"Kagome," A warm voice flooded her mind, causing her mental hand to shrink back from the dark door of secrets she had been trying so hard to discover. "Are you ready for breakfast?" Her mother placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Shaking her head to clear the last blurs from her eyes, she looked up at her mother.

Seeing the sadness in her daughters deep brown eyes, Mrs. Higurashi pulled the girl to her in a knowing embrace. Kagome fell gratefully against her mother, feeling like the five year old she once was, crying from a scraped knee. She wished the tears would come, but there was nothing left inside of her except for the relentless throb, a thorn pricked deep into her tender heart.

School felt like a passing daydream, almost an alternate reality. A few of Kagome's teachers and friends enquired if she was doing alright, but she just brushed them off. "I'm fine, just a little tired." The minutes passed slowly, but finally the bell rang, sounding like a distant echo.

Picking up her backpack, Kagome didn't notice its weight, just the deep pain, nagging at her as if eating her from the inside out. She didn't see the other people crowding past her in the hall. The entire school felt empty, even though it had never been more full of life. She wished Sango was there to comfort her, taking condolence in the fact that she would visit her soon.

For the second time since the year had begun, she bumped into Sesshomaru. "I hope this isn't going to become a habit of yours." He said coolly, looking down at the confused and dishelved young girl. Lifting herself slowly, she deftly dusted her clothes off. The older man noticed the glazed look in her normally sharp eyes. Lifting her chin up, he examined her face closely.

She was a mess. Besides her eyes, her entire face looked older. Dark circles ringed her reddened eyes. Her face was pale as death and her eyes held a look of sorrow that had not been there when he had seen her in the hospital visiting her friend. "What has he done to you?" He asked her, not expecting a reply.

"He's made me love him."

"Good you're here! It was getting pretty boring in here!" Sango graced Kagome with a string of sentences as she entered her room (she got to go home from the hospital). "There is _nothing _on television in the afternoon, no wonder housewives…" Sango trailed off as she noticed her friend's sullen face.

"What's the matter Kagome?" She asked, concerned. Kagome sat down on the edge of the bed and fell back into the blankets. Looking at Sango's face from upside down she asked, "What have I done?"

Sango smiled, stroking her friend's hair, comforting her. "Boy problems?" She asked. Kagome managed a small smile, Sango knew more than anyone about boys. She had dated more than a few herself, much more than Kagome could even hope to. She nodded, feeling pathetic and vulnerable.

"It's Inuyasha isn't it?" Kagome looked at her, hoping that she wouldn't see a look of disgust on her friend's face. Instead she was faced with the same warm smile her mother had given her. _Mom knew all about what happened!_ She realized. She nodded slightly, still feeling embarrassed. "What happened?"

Kagome began, explaining about her fight with Inuyasha about Koga, and soon she was spilling out the whole story. Her mind was filled with things that she felt needed to be blurted out. She was like a pitcher filled with too much water that it was spilling out from its edges. When she had finished, she laid back against the soft pillows of Sango's bed.

"You've got it all right, and you've got it bad." Sango told her frankly. Then she smiled comfortingly and put her hand in Kagome's, offering her silent support. "At least we're in the same boat together."

Inuyasha sat in the waiting room and surprise, surprise, waited. He looked around desperately, trying to focus his feelings on someone else than the girl who had flooded his thoughts since the moment she had left him standing alone and confused in front of the school the day before. He felt a strange something welled up inside of him, but he paid no mind to it.

"Kagayaku, Inuyasha." The young assistant looked around the room. Inuyasha raised his hand in a sort of salute as he stood. The woman looked him up and down, and with a deciding look in her eyes she led him to a room at the end of the hall.

The room was filled with bean bag chairs, building blocks and books and the walls were hung with crayon drawings. His eyes flicked over the bright, uplifting colors to land on the one filled only with black scribbles. He remembered drawing it, long ago… he ran his finger along the angry lines, remembering.

"_I'm sorry honey, but your parents won't be coming home for a while." The young boy looked up at the kindly, but unfamiliar woman. "Who're you?" He asked suspiciously, wondering where his parents were. She smiled at him warmly, but Inuyasha only saw an evil grin._

"_I'm Kaede, you'll be staying with me until your parents come back." _

"They won't come back. They won't ever come back." He told the picture angrily, "They're dead."

"I see we've made a new development: talking to pictures." An older man with a strange goatee, abnormally pointed ears and hair that looked straight out of the feudal era sat down in a chair, resting his clipboard on his desk and jotting something down. Glaring at the man, Inuyasha sat down gloomily on the other side of the desk.

"Nice to see you too, Inuyasha." He remarked, still writing.

"Shut up old man." Inuyasha growled, already wondering why he had even decided to visit his therapist. The man just smiled, and looked up at him expectantly. "How are you feeling Inuyasha?" He asked in his I-get-paid-lots-of-money-for-this kind of voice. Flexing his fingers into a fist underneath the desk Inuyasha unwillingly answered.

"I'm having problems."

"Yes I kind of figured that."

"Do you want me to leave or not old man?"

"My name is _Totousai_." Totousai corrected Inuyasha. He looked at the young man, his large eyes probing into Inuyasha's mind. Smiling slightly he jotted something down on the clipboard. Inuyasha leaned over to look at what he had written, but the therapist tilted the board out of Inuyasha's sight.

"Tell me about her." Inuyasha stared at the old man in amazement. "H-how did you know it was-?" He stuttered, surprised by Totousai's statement. The older man just sighed almost in satisfaction. "I don't have this PhD for nothing you know." Feeling more comfortable with this man than he had with anyone (other than Kagome) for a long time, he decided to talk.

"I got mad at her yesterday and now I feel… weird." Totousai looked at him in interest. Tapping his pen on the desk he asked, "How does it feel?"

"Like someone tied my stomach in knots." He said, trying to put the feeling into words, "Except-deeper inside."

"I see."

This exchange went on for a while, with Inuyasha talking and Totousai asking questions and writing feverishly. As he talked, Inuyasha remembered his first meeting with the therapist. He had been about seven, a year after his parents had left on what Kaede had called a long-term "business trip".

"_Hello Inuyasha." The strange, ugly old man stuck his wizened hand out to Inuyasha. Taking one look at it he said disdainfully, "Eww." Totousai withdrew his hand and rested back in his chair. "Well Inuyasha, how do you feel today?"_

"_Bad." The small boy answered picking up a red fire truck. Ignoring the man, he ran the truck across the desk's lustrous wooden surface. The old man said in a voice that was sweeter than sugar, "I'm Totousai. I'm a therapist. Do you know what a therapist is, Inuyasha?"_

_The young boy looked up at the therapist, a bored expression on his face. "Yup. I've had four already." With this he threw that fire truck with all of his might, aiming for Totousai's balding crown. When it hit its mark with a _thump_, the boy darted out of the room, casting behind him a mischievous smile that didn't seem to reach his eyes._

"_See ya, old man."_

As Inuyasha left, Totousai looked down at the notes he had written down on his clipboard. His eyes scanned the writing, checking the facts. As he came to his conclusion, he wrote his solution down at the bottom of the paper, shaking his head. He couldn't help hoping the troubled teenager would come back next week. It would add some excitement to his schedule. Leaving the clipboard on the table, he got up for some coffee.

On the space labeled "Diagnosis" only two short sentences were written, but that was all the therapist needed to get his point across.

_The kid's head over heels in love. The poor sucker._

Hoped you liked this installment! If you did, review!! It doesn't take long, and it motivates me! So, spend a minute or two (or if you really like the chapter, maybe five?) and review! You guys rock, don't give up on me! And remember: there are no subliminal messages _REVIEW OR ELSE_ in this story. Sorry for me and all my late-ness, you are all allowed to sick whatever kinds of rabid rodents, large metal objects, and even WMD (if Georgie ever finds them) on me if you'd like.

P.S. Please excuse my blatant use of political satire. I don't mean to enrage anyone by my take on our current president , it's just my way of showing I care.

P.P.S. Happy Chrismahannukwanzaka!! (And all of the other awesome holidays celebrated 'round the world!)


	15. Sango's Tears

Hello again my faithful readers and a big shout out to the readers who were awesome enough to find time to review (hint hint so should you… it's calling to you .), you rock! Anyways, sorry the last chapter was a little short, also sorry I haven't updated for forever! My internet connection crashed and I couldn't get on… stupid viruses (takes out large bat DIE!)… I decided I'm going to (at least try to…) update more, but that might mean I don't do the longest chapters in the world. ducks as large metal object whizzes past head don't kill me!

P.S. It seems to me, as I read over my openers and closing statements that I have a large fear of being massacred by my reviewers… hmmm, I wonder why that is.

Recap:

As Inuyasha left, Totousai looked down at the notes he had written down on his clipboard. His eyes scanned the writing, checking the facts. As he came to his conclusion, he wrote his solution down at the bottom of the paper, shaking his head. He couldn't help hoping the troubled teenager would come back next week. It would add some excitement to his schedule. Leaving the clipboard on the table, he got up for some coffee.

On the space labeled "Diagnosis" only two short sentences were written, but that was all the therapist needed to get his point across.

_The kid's head over heels in love. The poor sucker._

Chapter 15

Sango's Tears

Sango and Kagome sat in that room for what seemed like ages, silently comforting one another. Each of them was thinking her own thoughts, becoming more and more depressed despite the comfort the other was offering. Sango was feeling particularly emotional. She was remembering.

"He was so young," She said quietly, pleading with an invisible force, "why?" Kagome looked at Sango, trying to piece together what she had said. _Was she talking about Miroku? No, that wouldn't make sense… then-_"Who?" Kagome asked, trying to coax Sango to talk. She looked up at Kagome, tears welling in her normally strong, steadfast eyes.

"My brother," She said, tears coursed steadily down her cheeks now, "My brother Kohaku." Kagome put her hand comfortingly over her friend's hand, deciding not to pry any deeper into the story for fear of upsetting Sango even more. Sango seemed to have another idea.

"About two years ago, Kohaku was diagnosed with leukemia…" Sango said in a small shaky voice that Kagome had never heard from her strong friend before, "He fought so hard, he was so strong." She said, a smile tilted one side of her face out of its misery, disappearing in a split-second, but not before Kagome caught the glimmer of pride in Sango's eyes.

"The doctors said they had caught it too late; that he only had a few months at most to live. But Kohaku was strong. He lived far past that." Sango brushed a tear from her face as she continued, "We all knew deep down that Kohaku's disease wasn't going to be cured… but when he died-just like that-it was... it was…" Sango trailed off as she let out a strangled sob.

"S-so _unfair_!" Her words, almost a plead, were buried into Kagome's arms as she held her friend. Though her next words were barely audible, Kagome heard them loud and clear, echoing on insider her heart, "He was only ten, why him? Why not me?"

Sesshomaru rested his head gracefully against the wall of his apartment. He stared at the young girl with disarrayed ponytails and a yellow and orange checkered dress, who was making herself comfortable in his favorite leather chair. Glancing back to the wall, he asked it, "Why couldn't I have gotten the normal child?"

"Sesshomaru-sama, would you like me to-" The toad like animal called Jaken paused, thinking over a word, "-_take care _or her for you?" The child hopped from the chair smoothly, as if she was light as air, and bounced her way over to Jaken. Bending over to look him straight in the eye, the young girl said in a melancholy voice, "I can take care of _myself_." As if stating the obvious, she stuck her tongue out and skipped back to her chair.

Sesshomaru sighed, leaning against the wall to survey the room, "You heard her Jaken." Putting a hand to his head, he wondered why he even bothered. "Rin," He said, calling the small girl. Instantly she was at his side, hand on her forehead in a kind of mock salute, "Yes, Sesshomaru-sama!"

"Please go get me a large cup of coffee. I have some things to sort out." Bowing from the waist down so low that her nose touched her knee, Rin replied in a muffled voice, "Yes, Sesshomaru-sama!"

Against his own will, Sesshomaru felt his mouth twitch slightly, as if to smile. This girl was definitely not normal… reaching into the pockets of his billowing pants, he rummaged for his cellphone. After managing to find a stick of gum, an earring (now where did that come from…) and the extra key to his apartment, he located the phone. Someone had decorated it thoroughly with Hello Kitty stickers. _Thank you Rin, just what I've always wanted… all the proof in the world the media needs to confirm their suspicions that I am actually a woman…_

Dialing a number, he put the small phone to his elegantly pointed ear. After the third ring, a voice echoed through the cell, sounding a little distant. Sesshomaru could hear laughter and the tinkling of glasses in the background. "Have I caught you at a bad time, Myoga?" He asked, not really caring what the answer would be.

"No, I can talk. What would you like?" Myoga was his manager. He handled everything from appearance to his family's bank account. Sesshomaru decided to make the call a short one, "I would just like you to know that I think that girl is doing my image more bad than good, and was wondering if I could exchange her with one that was less- how shall I put this- _psychotic_." Sesshomaru heard an audible sigh from the other line.

"_Please_ work with me here," Myoga said in a voice coated with honey, "trust me on this one, you look like a model citizen: A rich, but not snobbish designer who fosters a girl who has lost her parents. Trust me on this one."

"I don't trust anyone, especially not you." Sesshomaru scoffed.

"Live with it." Myoga suddenly sounded very tired.

"Can I at least give her a sedative?"

"No."

As he collapsed into the previously inhabited leather chair, Sesshomaru closed his eyes, wishing for a simpler life, a life not filled with an overly-sugar-high nine-year-old.

"Here's your coffee, Sesshomaru-sama."

"Thank you Rin, now go fry your brain watching endless hours of television and stop bothering me," He pondered for a second, "On second thought, go play with Jaken." In spite of himself, he wondered how his unfortunate half-brother was faring in the face of love.

Inuyasha stared up at the ceiling, wondering for the hundredth time what Kagome was doing. He felt the familiar barb gauge another wound into his already bleeding heart. He felt for a glass of water as his vision began to blur. Fighting back the urge to crush the glass between his fingers, he placed two or three pills onto his tongue and downed the liquid. As he gulped the water, he wondered why he even bothered to get attached to people anymore. It was too much to take, he wanted out, and the only way out now was up.

Downing two more pills, he waited for the effects to kick in. It was wrong, and he knew it plain as the back of his hand, but it was all he could do to forget. The coward part of himself couldn't face the hurt, not yet at least-maybe ever. He had taken the easy way out this time, and he knew that one day that voice in the back of his mind would overpower him. Then, there would be no going back.

"Save me-Kagome."

Yah, I know… very depressing. Oh well, I guess it kinda rubbed off of me. I promise to make chapters more upbeat after this, but this part _had_ to be depressing. dodges flying objects I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Don't kill me okay?


	16. Over the Edge

SOOO SOOO SORRY! I promise I'll try as hard as I can to update, okay? Please don't murder me! I totally understand if you do though… It's not that I don't want to update, it's just that I can never find the time between dance, homework, violin and school… this is so stressful! sobs in corner please don't kill me! BTW, I'm currently also posting this story on but it is re-done. This means that I just put more detail into it, tweaked the story and ounce to make it more understandable and edited out mistakes. Pretty much, it's just a better version of this. To find Simple and Clean on just search my penname: Dragon-Neko383.

Okay people, I added a special "what-has-happened-so-far-blah-blah-blah" summary for those with short memories and others who just can't help forget the story because I take FOREVER to update this damn story…

"**what-has-happened-so-far-blah-blah-blah" summary**

Kagome, a young girl attending her second year of high school, meets Inuyasha, a troubled young man/boy/thing who used to date her older cousin (Kikyo). They supposedly broke off the relationship because Inuyasha had "cheated" on Kikyo, but at the moment, there is no substantial proof to back that claim up. Kagome and Inuyasha, after having a less than friendly run-in, warm up to each other more. Kagome also befriends a girl named Sango who has a past with her substitute art teacher Miroku (sounds like a soap opera cringe). Sango comes to foster an orphan named Shippo who is convinced that Inuyasha is gay. After an unfortunate incident at the ice-skating rink, Sango is out of commission at the hospital. There the motley crew meets up with "Assistant Doctor Kouga", who makes a few friends and an enemy. When Kouga begins to flirt with Kagome, and worse yet, drive her home, Inuyasha becomes jealous and the two teenagers (Kagome and Inuyasha) quarrel. When Kagome tries to make up, the fight escalates and she decides that it would be a good time to take a break from Inuyasha. Sango, Kagome, Inuyasha and Miroku are reassessing their own hearts and in the midst of all that teenage madness, Sango reveals and important fact about her life before her move. In the meantime, Sesshomaru (Inuyasha's half-brother and uber-famous designer) has taken on a project that seems even too much for him to handle: fostering a nine-year-old ball of pure energy. That poor, poor man.

Okay, I hope that didn't totally bore you! So-o-o, on with the story:

Recap:

Downing two more pills, he waited for the effects to kick in. It was wrong, and he knew it plain as the back of his hand, but it was all he could do to forget. The coward part of himself couldn't face the hurt, not yet at least-maybe ever. He had taken the easy way out this time, and he knew that one day that voice in the back of his mind would overpower him. Then, there would be no going back.

"Save me-Kagome."

Chapter 16

Over the Edge

A throbbing pain in his head woke Inuyasha the next day. By the warmth and angles of the rays seeping through the boarded up window to his left, he guessed that it was at least mid-afternoon. _I should be in school right now. _He thought to himself, wondering why he even bothered with school in the first place. What good would it do him? It's not as if he was ever going to have to work, not with the money his parents had left him. He slumped back down into the relative comfort of his threadbare pillow.

It wasn't that he wanted to live the life of a peasant; it was just that he didn't care. No one visited him, and even if they had, he wouldn't have fixed up the ramshackle old house just for a few guests. It was strange, now that he thought of it: one brother living in complete wealth, the other in illusionary poverty. He knew that there was quite a sum of money under his name in the bank, yet he used it for things that he thought mattered more than a nice house: food, gas for his car (Though he was too attached to the old thing to get another one), and sometimes things a little more shady.

His past, though a distant memory, was tucked safely in a hidden corner of his mind; one of the many skeletons cluttering his closet. His father had been involved with "sales", as his mother put it anyway. For a five-year-old, this excuse was logical enough, but as Inuyasha grew, he started realize that his father's "sales" might be less than legal. The shady looking men that filtered quietly in and out of the house at night, and the fact that his father was almost never home gave the child reason to doubt what his father's business was.

At the tender age of eight, both of his parents died in a mysterious accident that left the detectives on the case puzzled. After his parents' death, the young boy was sent to Kaede, his mother's sister, to live with her. She knew quite well the business that Inuyasha's father had decided to involve himself with, and greatly disapproved. Kaede was a good tempered, nice-but-firm kind of woman who, to most people, was absolutely likable. Inuyasha hated her.

At this time, his aunt had decided that the boy needed a therapist, and so, the torture began. After a yearlong search, four unsuccessful therapists and a lawsuit later, Inuyasha met Totousai. The old man seemed to be the only person that the young boy could talk to about how he felt, and over the next few years, the two formed a lasting bond.

He had been involved with drugs before, but it was just a way to cure the depression that had overcome him when he had to face the fact that his parents were dead. They had been prescribed by the therapist before Totousai, but Inuyasha had not taken that alternative until after his sessions with Totousai had ended. Though he had convinced Kaede that he had moved on from the therapy stage, he was still possessed by a deep sorrow that even Totousai could not cure.

At the age of thirteen, after taking the pills for a little over two years, Inuyasha discovered that if he added a pill to his daily dose, it had a more desired effect. Soon, he was completely addicted to the drug, and it was only then that Kaede decided that Inuyasha needed serious help. She checked him into a hospital and left, passing him on to the only person left that would be able to handle the troubled teen. This person was a good friend of his late father; his name was Myoga.

Myoga wasn't the live-in guardian that Kaede had been. Instead he visited the Kagayaku Manor three or four times a week to make sure that Inuyasha was faring well. When Sesshomaru decided to sell the manor and move into an apartment, Myoga had tried to convince Inuyasha of renting an apartment as well. But Inuyasha, still trying to hang on to any memories he might have possessed of his parents, moved into his mother's old house. She had never sold it when she had married his father, parents long dead, and so it was abandoned, waiting for the day that it was demolished to make way for something newer and better. To put it lightly, the house had seen better days.

Inuyasha, despite Myoga's pleas to redo the house, moved in and took no measures to change it in any way, keeping the memories intact. The house with its boarded-up windows and ancient furnishings gave the teenager a sense of comfort and security. Inuyasha began to enjoy life more, and with that enjoyment, came the reappearance of the addictions he had harbored in the past. It seemed to anyone that came in contact with him that he was no longer a boy, though he had only just entered his teens. The years of emotional stress had aged him far passed his own years.

At fourteen, he was more mature than most of his grade-mates, and so, he started to stray towards his upper-classmen. He fit in with people that were years older than him better than he fit in with people his own age. These friendships only fed his addictions, and soon he was way over his head. And then, as though by some higher force, a young woman found him, and made up her mind to save him. Her name was Kikyo.

Kikyo was the one who had searched through his backpack, snatching away his anti-depressants. Kikyo was the one who had called the pharmacy and discontinued his prescription. Kikyo was the one who had made him feel like someone in the world cared about who he was on the inside, not how he mature he acted. Kikyo knew how hard it was to be misunderstood by the entire world, to have no where to run to. She gave him a place to run.

Inuyasha's eyes closed and he slipped away into a dream-like state. _I shouldn't have taken so many… Kikyo's not here to save me anymore. _ The last thing he remembered before his mind went completely black was a form, reaching out from the darkness towards him. It was fuzzy, but as the image began to clear Inuyasha recognized it. At first he had thought it was Kikyo, come to haunt his thoughts, but he realized that it was not Kikyo, but Kagome. Inuyasha reached out his hand to grab a hold of hers, but she was too far away.

_Kagome…_

Kagome woke with a start. She looked around her, wondering for a second where she was. Sango was sleeping peacefully next to her, her breathing slow and steady. She tried to recall the dream she had been having, but it was already gone, a fleeting feeling shadowing her mind. All that she knew was that it hadn't been a pleasant dream. Kagome's memory flooded back to her. Sango and Kagome had stayed up until about seven O'clock in the morning, and they had slept it off way into the afternoon. Kagome strained to remember what had woken her so violently.

_Something was very wrong. _Her stomach was unsettled and she felt as though something unpleasant was looming, just out of perception. She knew what this was about, and yet she didn't want to give into it. She was going to show Inuyasha that she could be strong. She could live without him. And yet… something seemed out of place. This wasn't the jittery, love-sick feeling that had plagued her earlier. No, this was much different.

She knew though, that the wrongness had to do with Inuyasha, she could just feel it. Pulling on her sweater, she headed out the door, leaving a note on her pillow about where she would be. She hoped that Sango would find it and tell her mother before she called in the National Guard. Fortunately she had slept in her clothes, so she wouldn't have to take the extra time to change. Grabbing her bike, she pedaled furiously in the direction of Inuyasha's house.

_I just hope I'm not too late…_

Okay, I updated sooner than I thought… Yay! does a little happy dance I know, I'm sorry that this is getting a bit depressing, but I just had to explain a little more about Inuyasha's past and all that sad stuff… It will get better as the story progresses, promise! Besides, didn't that answer some of your burning questions? No? Ah, well… I tried.


	17. My Apologies, Mr Kagayaku

Hello again all my readers! I'm never good with New Years Resolutions, but this year I am resolving to update faster (hopefully…guilty look). Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me this long and to all of the people who reviewed, you guys rock my world (puny and pathetic as it is…)!

Chapter 17

My Apologies, Mr. Kagayaku

Kagome's mother sighed as she hung up the phone. This had never happened before. Kagome had never skipped school before, she was a good kid. When she called up Ari to make sure that Kagome had gotten to school okay, Ari hadn't even woken the two girls up yet. When she had gone in to check on the two girls, Sango was asleep, but Kagome was missing. _I should have known, this **is** Ari I'm trusting to be responsible. _Mrs. Higurashi just hoped that Kagome had a good excuse.

meanwhile

As Ari left the room, Sango opened her eyes. She unfolded the piece of paper that had been tucked securely into the palm of her fist so that her mother wouldn't notice it. She raised an eyebrow, then smiled as she read it.

_Sango-_

_Gone to Inuyasha's, don't worry about me,_

_be back as soon as I can._

_Love,_

_Kagome_

_She's become a delinquent in the face of love._ Grinning to herself, Sango drifted off to sleep again.

By the time Kagome had reached the front door of the broken down old house, she was breathing hard and her throat was painfully dry. Her heart pounded in her head and Kagome found it hard to walk as her vision blurred. Shaking her head to clear her eyes, she took a deep breath, wetting her lips. She started slowly towards the front door of the house.

Kagome didn't bother knocking (ringing the doorbell was out of the question-there was none), but instead tried to open the door. She was ready to kick the door in, but to her surprise, it opened easily. Now she definitely knew that something was amiss. The feeling was everywhere.

Panicked now, she called out, "Inuyasha! Inuyasha, are you in here? Answer me!" She looked around frantically and when she realized that he was not on the first floor, she headed for the decrepit stairwell. She hoped it wouldn't lead her to misfortune. Her heart was pounding harder in her chest now, almost pressing to get out.

Making it all of the way up the stairway, her legs burning up again from her bicycle ride, the young girl whipped her head around, hoping for the world that she wasn't too late. Spotting an open door to her right, she sprinted into it. The sight on the bed confirmed her worst fears. Backing up against the wall, she collapsed from exhaustion. Fighting through the blackness now threatening to overpower her, Kagome crawled towards the bed, her hand grasping cold flesh.

_I'm here now Inuyasha._ She gave into the darkness and let it take her.

Kagome's eyes fluttered open to a bleak scene. A young man lay sprawled out on the moth-eaten sofa-bed, as if sleeping peacefully. His hair spanned out on either side of his head and seeped over the side of the bed as if it was molten silver. From her position on the floor, Kagome could see that his fingertips had turned a mottled shade of blue. She forced her aching body off of the floor, wishing it could go as fast as her racing mind.

Inuyasha wasn't moving, and as she made her way over to the bed, she could tell that his sleep was far from natural. Reaching out a hand to check his neck for a pulse, Kagome felt his cold flesh under her fingertips. She fought the urge to withdraw her hand, and applied pressure to it instead. She felt a faint shadow of a pulse, and an ounce of warmth flowed through her, thawing her cold hands. There was hope yet.

Making her way to the phone, she dialed the hospital. She almost shouted into the receiver when the operator answered, and couldn't stay calm enough to tell the woman what had happened. Instead she only managed to force out the address and then she collapsed on the kitchen floor, letting out a harsh sob that ripped through her body. In her stupor she did not notice the empty translucent-orange prescription bottle lying on its side on the counter.

It seemed like hours before she finally heard the sirens of the approaching ambulance. As they poured into the house, equipped with a stretcher, Kagome let out a weak cry. Mistaking her as the one who needed help, the crew of doctors tried to heft _her _onto the stretcher. Pushing away from them, she gained enough strength to reprimand them.

"Not me you idiots, the comatose one in the bed upstairs! For Kamis' sake!"

Kagome watched distantly back on the kitchen floor as the doctors loaded Inuyasha's stiff form into the ambulance, shouting directions at one another. She couldn't help thinking to herself; _This is the second person to go into the hospital in less than a month… _Wondering what she had ever done to deserve all of this misfortune, Kagome let herself be pulled into the ambulance after Inuyasha. The doctors seemed as worried about her as they did about Inuyasha, and that was saying a lot because he was unconscious.

Sesshomaru scowled as his cellphone rang. Fishing it out of his pants, he scowled for the umpteenth time at the lovely little stickers inhabiting its surface, wondering that if he glared at it long enough they might burn off. No luck. He answered the phone in the customary way,

"What do you want, I'm busy." In fact he wasn't busy at all. Wednesday was his self-proclaimed day-off, which he was spending at a playground. Yes, a playground. Rin had insisted that they go, and Sesshomaru had been obliged to agree. That girl seriously needed exercise. The voice on the other end was unfamiliar and business-like.

"Is this Mr. Sesshomaru Kagayaku?" Sesshomaru examined his nails, already bored with the entire situation. "No, I would not like to buy a pension plan, a vacuum cleaner _or _electric nose-hair cutters. Leave me alone." He was about to push "off" button when he heard the other voice say, "Wait, Mr. Kagayaku! It's about your brother." Reluctantly the man put the phone to his ear again.

"What's happened this time?" He asked with a sigh, hoping he hadn't done any permanent damage. There was a pause on the other end and then, "I'm sorry to inform you that-"

Rin grabbed the phone from Sesshomaru's hand to tell the person on the other line, "Hello, this is Yoko Ono and I'm calling to say I love you." Then she promptly pressed the off button and handed the phone matter-of-factly back to the astounded supermodel. "Your welcome, Lord Sesshomaru." She bowed once and flounced back to the play-set. Sesshomaru glanced from his phone to Rin and back to his phone again.

"Thank you _oh_ so much Rin." Hoping that Inuyasha hadn't managed to kill himself off yet (that was _his_ job), Sesshomaru sat back against the bench to take a nap.

It was eleven O'clock in the morning and Mrs. Higurashi had gotten her underwear in a large sailor knot. Kagome had been missing for more than twelve hours and neither Sango nor her mother knew where she was. When she phoned the school they reported that she had been absent for the last two days and there was no way to call Inuyasha, his number wasn't in the phone book and Sango didn't know it either. From what Sango had said (or hadn't said) she had surmised that the two teens were together, wherever they were. That was when she received the phone call.

"Mrs. Higurashi? This is Intensive Care Unit at Tokyo Downtown Hospital; a Kagome Higurashi would like to talk to you." Kagome's mother almost dropped the phone. _What in Kami's name had happened to her daughter?_ Kagome's voice flowed through the phone. It was quiet, and very afraid. "Mommy, It's Inuyasha. I-I found him at his house; he was unconscious. He won't wake up!" Her voice crackled as she sobbed through the phone.

"Are you okay, are you hurt?"

"No," Came the pitiful reply.

"Okay. Hold tight honey, I'm coming to pick you up. It's gonna be okay." Mrs. Higurashi said into the phone, trying to calm her daughter down, "It's going to be alright."

The lids of Inuyasha's eyes were hot. The sun was beating mercilessly down upon his unprotected face. As his eyes fluttered open, he shielded them from the light. _Where am I? _He rubbed his head, trying to remember. As he did so he felt something unnatural. Actually, two things. They were weird, furry, and perched on the top of his head.

"What the hell?" He mumbled aloud. Running his hand down the side of his face, he found another wrongness. Something was missing. Sitting up awkwardly he felt the top of his head and then the side. "Holy shit, fuzzy triangles of doom have stolen my ears!"

Inuyasha had stayed perfectly still for the last twenty hours. No movement, not even a twitch. His eyes had stayed shut, and yet his heart rate had stayed perfectly normal. The doctors had diagnosed an overdose on prescription drugs, and yet they were puzzled as he steadily had become better overnight. The warmth and color had returned to his body and he was perfectly healthy. Well, healthy except for the fact that he was still unconscious.

Kagome had stayed by his side the entire time, occasionally bursting out in uncontrollable tears, other times refusing to talk or move entirely. The doctors finally coaxed her to drink some tea and call her mother, but it had taken them a while.

She was now waiting for her mother to arrive, to take her away from Inuyasha. She couldn't help thinking that she was abandoning him in his time of need. Taking his hand in hers she whispered to his unmoving form, "I'm so sorry," tears began to trickle down her face, "-so sorry." She didn't hear the door open behind her.

Koga surveyed the scene. He had found out about what had happened from the nurses: they couldn't keep their mouths shut about anything, even if their lives depended on it. Inuyasha lay on the hospital bed, monitors buzzing about him. If he was in pain, his face didn't show it. As a matter of fact, it seemed perfectly bland; no emotion whatsoever. Koga's eyes strayed to the woman in the plastic chair by the side of the bed. Her head was resting on the bed, hair splayed haphazardly over her face. Her body was shaking slightly and the doctor could tell that she was crying.

Placing a hand on the woman's back he asked, "Ma'am, are you alright? Do you-" The assistant doctor never finished his sentence because the woman had raised her head to look at him. The woman was Kagome. "I-it's all my fault!" She sobbed, collapsing into Koga's hands. Bewildered, the doctor froze for a moment, and then eased the distraught girl back up onto her chair. "It's going to be fine Kagome..." The doctors condoled the girl until another concerned person burst through the doors.

This time, it was not another doctor, but instead a woman who Koga only assumed had to be Kagome's mother. Spotting the girl, Mrs. Higurashi swept her up into a tight embrace. "I was so afraid Kagome, I thought…" Mrs. Higurashi stopped speaking as her eyes fell on Inuyasha's unmoving form. Turning her now frightened eyes to Koga she asked, "Is he-?" Koga shook his head solemnly, but couldn't bring himself to explain what had happened; for fear that the knot in his throat would tighten even more. Mrs. Higurashi seemed to find the doctor's answer all that she needed, because she swept out of the room with a quite distressed Kagome, leaving the doctors to sort out Inuyasha.

Kagome extended her arm behind her mother, grasping for Inuyasha, but she was already to far away. _Don't die Inuyasha, not now when I've just realized just how much I love you!_

The sun crept behind the trees surrounding the park, and the bright colors of the sunset bled into one another, competing to follow the sun into darkness. Sesshomaru admired the view for the first time in a _very_ long time. Sighing, he wished that his life wasn't so complicated. As he began to rise stiffly from the park bench, his cell phone rang again. He seriously considered burying the damned thing in the playground sand, but decided against it.

"Yes?"

"Is this Mr. Sessho-"

"Yes."

"It's about your brother. You know, Inuyasha-"

"I am fully aware of my brother's name, thank you very much."

"Yes, well," The person on the other end of the phone was beginning to sound quite nervous, "He, is, umm, currently in a state of coma, and since you are his closest relative, we need you to come in and take care of a few things-namely treatment." Sesshomaru sighed exasperatedly. A horrible end to what he had hoped would be a peaceful day.

"Where is he now?" Sesshomaru asked unenthusiastically.

"Tokyo Downtown Hospital, sir." The secretary (or whoever that unfortunate person was) cleared his throat, "My sincerest apologies Mr. Kagayaku."

Beckoning to Rin to stop chasing a squirrel, Sesshomaru jotted down the hospital address and ICU phone number. "I'll be over as soon as I can. Would tomorrow be okay, or do you need me now?"

"Tomorrow is fine, we'll call if any changes occur during that time." The secretary assured him.

"Myapologies for all of the trouble my idiot brother may have caused," Sesshomaru said politely, hoping that his half-brothers romp with death didn't tax his checkbook too bad. Tucking the small mechanism into his pocket, he withdrew his keys. "We're going on an _adventure_ tomorrow Rin," Sesshomaru told the girl dully.


	18. Another World, Another Memory

You all deserve an apology for how ridiculously long the last chapter took, so as a reward for waiting, I wrote another chapter real fast for you! Yay, so to celebrate, everyone has to review… kidding, kidding! Though it would be nice… I have two giant projects to do, and next week is finals, so I hope you enjoy, 'cus you won't be seeing much updating for a while (sorry guys, school comes first!).   
**IMPORTANT NOTE: I finally found out how to allow anonymous reviews, so everyone, anonymous or no, can review!! Equal reviewing rights for all!!**

Recap:

"Myapologies for all of the trouble my idiot brother may have caused," Sesshomaru said politely, hoping that his half-brothers romp with death didn't tax his checkbook too bad. Tucking the small mechanism into his pocket, he withdrew his keys. "We're going on an _adventure_ tomorrow Rin," Sesshomaru told the girl dully.

Chapter 18

Another World, Another Memory

Inuyasha had stopped flipping out for the time being, and was silently fuming, propped haphazardly in a scraggly old thing that could have once been mistaken for a tree. He had a few burning questions that were nagging at him. One, where were his ears? Two, did the fuzzy triangles of doom eat them, and if so, will they eat his head next? And three, where in the world was he?

Suddenly, the FTD (fuzzy triangles of doom) perked up. At the same moment, he caught a whiff of something his brain automatically registered as: _human_, and he thought he heard the shuffling of footsteps on a gravel path. But of course that was impossible because the FTD's had stolen his- Inuyasha finally made the connection.

"No," He whispered, disbelieving. He brought a hand up the on triangle and snapped his fingers. The thing moved in the direction of the sound and at that instant, he picked up the clear sound of his own fingers snapping. Inuyasha lay back against the tree heavily. What was going on? Only then did he notice that not only were his new ears fuzzy doglike things, but his sense of smell had risen dramatically. Odors bombarded him from all sides: cooking meat, wood smoke, humans. He creased his brow, hoping this experience was all just a very realistic dream.

Inuyasha's eyes strayed back to the person on the path. He was dressed strangely in a worn and tattered haori that looked like something you would find in a museum. _Maybe this is that new feudal theme park or something…_Inuyasha wondered, scoffing at the thought of such an idiotic idea. Looking back to the man, he waved a hand and called out, "Hiya!"

The man took one look at Inuyasha, taking in the unnatural silver hair and dog ears perched precariously on his head and took off, running back the way he came. A few seconds later, Inuyasha's new and improved hearing picked up the sounds of shouting. He smelled burning wood and the rank stench of fear. Sighing, he hopped down from his tree, ten minutes into his stay and he had already gone and pissed some guy off. It was a new record.

Inuyasha ran a curious hand across his new ears for the umpteenth time, trying to get used the fuzziness of it all. He couldn't imagine how they had got that way unless this was some "What's-it-like-to-be-a-demon-in-the-Feudal-Era" 3-D experiences. In that case they must have found a way to master the tricky art of smell-a-vision. Though it could happen, Inuyasha had a bad feeling about this, and it wasn't the fact that he had always hated the IMAX theater "experiences". No, this was a very different feeling, and to say the least, it wasn't a good one.

Sesshomaru hadn't especially wanted to go to some hospital to visit his imbecile younger brother, but it was better than sitting at his desk affirming dates for the release of his new fragrance line (which he had no idea even existed until a few days before). Currently, he was blandly watching a news channel in the back of his limousine, his energetic charge bouncing around him pressing all of the buttons she could get her little hands on. Glancing over at her for a second, he noticed her hand straying to the little red button surrounded by a glass case. "Rin…" he warned, not really caring. Rin, as always, completely ignored the man and flipped up the case. Before the child could slam her palm down on what could have been her demise, the limousine came to a stop.

The child's attention was immediately directed towards the large white building looming over them, all thoughts of the intriguing button pushed to the back of her mind. Before waiting for the driver to enable the child lock device (Sesshomaru had known better than to keep the doors unlocked with a sugar-high nine year old in the car), Rin unrolled the tinted window and scrambled out. Well, almost.

Sesshomaru caught her by the back of her strange little dress and hauled her back into the car. He gave a polite cough to the driver, who got out and just as politely opened the door for the two. Pushing back the urge to lock Rin in the car, the designer decided against torturing his driver anymore, and set the girl on her feet. "Let's _try_ to act as though I didn't just feed you a few hundred espresso shots, yes?" Rin stood jauntily at attention in a mock-kind of salute. "Yes, sir, Sesshomaru-sama!" and then made her way to the large glass doors which she promptly ran into face first. Sighing, Sesshomaru followed after the girl.

He checked his watch. 3:30. He hoped to be out in less than an hour and back to work, or better yet, home to an early dinner and some much needed sleep. He made his way to the secretary's desk, but there was no one there except for a young, foreign-looking man in his early-twenties. He looked up as Sesshomaru cleared his throat. "Oh, hello," He said, taking in the designer's silver hair and facial markings, "You must be Mr. Kagayaku, if I'm not mistaken?" Sesshomaru nodded slightly as the doctor got up out of the chair, "Well then, will you please follow me?"

Sesshomaru examined the hospital as they walked. He had been here many times before. A distant memory nagged at him as he passed through those white, sterile halls. A picture flashed across his mind, a young child with silver hair and purple slash-like markings on both cheeks sat beside a bed. He couldn't see the face of the woman in the bed, but he knew who it was. He distantly remembered that night, though it seemed more like a dream to his six year old self. It was the night his mother had died, the night his father had pressed a knife against his throat and told him never to tell. The night all happiness drained from his heart.

Sesshomaru blinked the picture away, focusing his eyes straight ahead in a cold stare. Memories were useless things of the past. He had no need for such things that only caused confusing tendrils of feeling to places that were cold and numb. He was afraid that if they thawed, he would drown in those memories. Those things he had tried too hard to pretend they hadn't existed.

"Here you are Mr. Kagayaku. This is his room. I'm sure you'd like some time alone before you want to start worrying about all the paperwork and-" the man stopped as he opened the door. There seemed to be someone already visiting. The woman turned to stare coldly at Sesshomaru. Unconsciously, he took a step back, eyes widening. This woman seemed so familiar, and yet so alien. Her features almost mirrored that of the young girl who he had talked to in the same hospital weeks before, inquiring to where his brother had been. But this woman had a colder, older air about her; much different than the girl he had confronted before.

"Do I know you?" He asked, his voice as cold as her stare. Her eyes held his as she said, matching his tone, "You might. My name is Kikyo."

Kagome knocked quickly on Sango's door, shifting impatiently from one foot to the other. "Come on Sango, what's taking you so long?" A voice from behind startled her as she was about to check if the door was open. "Talking to yourself now Ms. Higurashi?" Kagome wheeled around to find herself face-to-face with Mr. M. "M-Mr. M? What are you doing here?" His joke had been forced, and when he spoke again, Kagome could sense a how uncomfortable he was. "Please, call me Miroku. I'm here to visit Sango."

Kagome's eyes widened a little, and she felt like crying again, remembering again the talk Sango had had with her only a few nights before. Miroku must have noticed her expression because he quickly said, "Her mother called to tell me about Inuyasha-and since I _am _his teacher, I _did_ want to go visit him. Ari suggested I go with you two, since you were already planning on going to the hospital today, isn't that right?" Kagome softened slightly as she turned back to the door. "Yes, well, we should be going soon enough if," at this point she raised her voice slightly, "Sango would hurry up!"

Kagome was rewarded with the sound of footsteps hurrying down a staircase. The door opened and Sango stepped out, closing the door behind her. Kagome smiled at her friend, though there was no feeling in her eyes. "Hey." She whispered softly, raising her eyebrow at Miroku, "Why does this seem strange to me?" She asked. Sango just shrugged as they piled into Miroku's car. Kagome opted to sit in the backseat, and stared out the window blandly, not noticing Sango's hand covering Miroku's in the front seat. She was thinking of her own special someone.

The car ride was silent, and to Sango it seemed slightly strange. Kagome seemed absolutely detached from the world, as though she was nothing more than an empty store manikin: unmoving and cold. Kagome's lips were pressed together, and her face seemed older. Dark circles ringed her eyes, and her face had lost its color. She seemed like a completely different person. She squeezed Miroku's hand instinctively. He didn't pull his hand away, and though he couldn't do much else (lesson something-or-other in the _Driver's Manual_: DO NOT take your hand off the steering wheel and/or gear shift to engage in any other activity whatsoever) he did smile slightly.

After arriving at the hospital, they signed in with a woman who kept glancing at Sango as though she new her from somewhere. She had a healing cut across one cheek, and Kagome had a sneaking suspicion that she might have been a nurse involved in what Sango called her "battle for her rights". They made their way to the Intensive Care wing of the hospital, passing by a man with a squirrel stuck to his arm ("I just wanted to eat my pretzel!"), and a few trolleys loaded with everything from sterile bandages to trays of hospital food. When they finally came to the room where Inuyasha had been assigned, the door was open, and it seemed they were not the only visitors.

Kagome took a step backwards as she heard a cold voice coming from inside the room. "My name is Kikyo." A sudden urge to run engulfed her, and she almost turned when she remembered why she came. _I came here for Inuyasha_, she thought, willing herself to be strong, _what does it matter if _she's_ here too?_ She took a deep breath, and motioned for Sango and Miroku to follow her as she made her way into the shadowy room. Kagome's gaze didn't fall directly on her cousin, but instead on Inuyasha's seemingly lifeless form. But he didn't seem so lifeless anymore.

His chest rose and fell steadily and color was back in his cheeks. He seemed as if he would wake up any second and- Kagome pushed the fantasy aside. It was no use dreaming, he might never wake up and then where would she be? Just a lost dreamer, with nothing to show for it except a broken heart. Ignoring the others in the room, she almost ran up to the bed and stopped. She reached a hesitant hand out to touch the boy's hand. To her surprise, it was warm to the touch. Her hand strayed to the jewel around her neck for a second, before dropping to her side.

By this time, she felt more than one pair of eyes watching her. Turning, she surveyed the room. Koga was there, and Kikyo as well. But there was another person, someone she had not expected to see; Sesshomaru was standing a few feet behind Koga, cold eyes watching her. Miroku was the first one to break the uncomfortable silence. "Well this is a strange twist of fate, isn't it?"

And how right he was.

Yay! The depressing bit is over! Homeward bound to happy fields of laughter and joy (okay, not quite…) we go! I promise that next chapter won't be depressing. Actually, according to my inner voices, it will be _'Mysterious'_ duh duh duh duuuum…

Next Chapter:

Midoriko's Warning


	19. Midoriko’s Warning

Hello, blah blah blah, read and review… you guys know the drill. Here's another chapter:

Recap:

By this time, she felt more than one pair of eyes watching her. Turning, she surveyed the room. Koga was there, and Kikyo as well. But there was another person, someone she had not expected to see; Sesshomaru was standing a few feet behind Koga, cold eyes watching her. Miroku was the first one to break the uncomfortable silence. "Well this is a strange twist of fate, isn't it?"

And how right he was.

Chapter 19

Midoriko's Warning

It was a strange sight, those seven people. Two teenage girls, an intern doctor, a world famous designer, a misshapen orphan, a substitute teacher and a young law student (Kikyo). It seemed like more of an accident than fate that brought the motley group together. But, as many things are when concerning destiny and fate, there was more to their predicament then what it seemed. Each one had his or her own reason for being in that room, and the one that had brought them all together was seemingly beyond their reach. Fate though, can be fickle.

"Kikyo?" Kagome's soft voice, almost incomprehensible, whispered. The young woman's eyes softened softly as she took in Kagome. She beckoned for her, and the younger girl fell into her strong embrace. Kagome envied Kikyo's calm demeanor and absorbed the comfort offered by her cousin's arms. She did not cry, for there were no tears left to cry, but Kagome knew that Kikyo understood what she felt. Kagome did not ask her cousin why she was visiting Inuyasha, nor did she wonder. She understood what many couldn't fathom about her mysterious cousin.

Kikyo suffered in her own way. Behind her quite demeanor, Kikyo was a strong and determined woman who knew what she wanted in life. But Kikyo also felt a deep sadness when she had heard about Inuyasha. She had tried so hard to keep him clean and out of trouble, and then turned her back on him and walked away. And she was surprised to see her spunky young cousin in the state that she was in. What was her connection to Inuyasha? What had happened between them to make her so distraught?

Kagome pulled away from her cousin slightly, and Kikyo could tell a small bit of fire had sparked behind her eyes. There were no words exchanged, but the two girls had no need for them. Kagome breathed deeply, feeling more alive than she had felt in days. She felt a slight tug on her hand, and looked down. A girl about eight or nine was smiling up at her, attached to her hand. Kagome smiled slightly back. "And what might your name be?"

It was Sesshomaru that answered her question, "Rin, stop clinging to strangers and come here." Sesshomaru motioned for the girl to sit beside him. The man looked entirely bored with the entire situation. Rin skipped over to her seat and plopped down on the cold plastic chair. Reaching over, she clasped onto the designer's hand. His eyes widened slightly as he went rigid for a second. Then, to his own surprise, he relaxed, curling his hand slightly over the child's smaller one.

The air in the room relaxed slightly after introductions were made and the first shock of the situation wore off. Kouga, feeling out of place, turned to leave, having already explained to Sesshomaru what he needed to do with the paperwork. A warm hand on his arm stopped him. Looking back over his shoulder, Kagome's vulnerable face stared back at him. "Stay please," She asked hesitantly, "I'm sure Inuyasha would have liked that."

Kouga smiled, "I don't think he would, but…" He sat back down into a chair opposite the dog-eared boy. The two looked around the room. Kikyo was discussing something with Miroku, and Sango had perched Rin in her lap. Sesshomaru was sitting near Rin and Sango, glaring at the wall halfheartedly. Kouga looked back to Kagome, "I'm sure he'll be-" Kouga was cut off for the second time that day as the door opened again.

The room immediately quieted. A young woman stuck her head around the door. She was a pretty thing; long black hair framed her face and stopped at around her hips. On her forehead was strange four tipped star marking. She seemed to glow with an unearthly light that came from inside of her. The strangest thing of all was what she was wearing: it looked like some kind of armor. "Good," She said, satisfied with herself, "I got the right room this time… do you know how disturbing it is to walk into a room looking for a nice looking boy and finding and old geezer who asks you to change his bedpan?" She asked cheerfully.

Looking over to Sesshomaru she commented, "Well aren't you handsome?" As he tensed, she added, "No need to get protective, I'm not here to hurt you." Sesshomaru's eyes lowered. He could sense something very un-human in this woman. It was not the feeling of a demon, nor of a vengeful ghost. Instead, it felt more like a comforting warmth. Shaking the feeling away, he said dully, "Let me guess-another of my idiot brother's ex-girlfriends?" The woman's tinkling laugh filled the air. "Far from it," She said happily, "I'm here to help you get him back though."

At this Kagome straightened in her chair. "How," She demanded, "And for that matter, who _are _you." The woman put a hand to her mouth, "Of course, how rude of me," she smiled as she walked to Inuyasha's body, "My name is Midoriko." Kagome's eyes widened in fear as she remembered Inuyasha's tale about the Jewel of Four Souls, "Midoriko," she whispered, awed, "The creator of the Shikon no Tama?" Midoriko nodded optimistically, "Yup, the very same. And I'm here to help you save him." She said, jerking her thumb at Inuyasha.

"So, to answer your other question, _you_ are going to save him with my help," She seemed to come to another conclusion. "If-"

"If?" Miroku and Sango asked together.

The spirit smiled secretly, "If I can pet his ears."

Sesshomaru sighed, exasperated. This whole experience was getting stranger by the minute. Glancing about, his brow furrowed slightly. Where was Rin? Feeling someone's eyes on him, he looked up to lock eyes with Midoriko. Her eyes held wisdom and the unearthly glow he had felt from her presence. He almost jumped as her voice, deep and throaty, echoed in his mind. _Protect her, for you are all she has left. _A cold dread unfurled inside his heart.

_What do you mean? _He found he could speak to her mind as well. Midoriko shook her head, _in time, her time as a child will be lost. Then her day will dawn._ Sesshomaru tried to contact her again, but the presence was gone from his mind, and Rin was at Midoriko's side, braiding a strand of midnight hair. Midoriko had settled herself on Inuyasha's hospital bed, her voice now losing the cheerful air in exchange for the serious one that she had addressed him with.

Stroking Inuyasha's ear absently, she began to speak. "You must listen closely to what I am about to say, for I have little time left. Kagome," She said earnestly, eyes boring into the young girl, "To find Inuyasha, you must use the gift that he has given to you, but to save him, you must look inside yourself." Kagome pondered the spirits words as she went on to the next person. "Kikyo, you must choose between what you have come to believe, and the truth." Kikyo nodded, frowning slightly.

"Sango, your future lies in the hands of your past." Sango bit her lip and looked down as Midoriko continued, "And you Miroku, to truly defeat the darkness in your heart, you must find what you left behind. Kouga, nothing is set in stone. Fear a change of heart, and you will be trapped in your own fleeting feelings." Her eyes fell on Sesshomaru, "You, Sesshomaru, heed my words. You cannot mend that which was broken alone." A shadow dimmed the man's eyes for a split-second, and vanished as fast as it had come. Breaking the solemn feeling in the room, Midoriko asked, "So, where's the nearest Starbucks? I'm running low on 'spirit fuel' and coffee is the second best thing…"

Miroku happily (Sango glares hole into Miroku's wandering hand) directed Midoriko to the coffee shop, and she turned to look at the group for the last time. Directing her unnerving gaze upon Kagome, she said, "Work together, form an unbreakable bond, and you _will_ succeed." Her voice faded as her body began to disappear. Her star marking hung in the air a few seconds after she was gone, a fleeting remnant of her presence. Kagome called after her, "But how do I find him if he's right in front of me?" A voice that resonated deep within her called, _to find him, use his gift. To save him, look inside yourself…_

Kagome lifted the Jewel out from underneath her shirt, where she kept it hidden. "His gift," She said, more to herself than anyone else. She placed it gingerly on the bedside table as the others made their way to her. Sesshomaru raised a shapely brow. "The Jewel of Four Souls, I see. That is why it was Midoriko who visited us." Kikyo dug her nails into her palms. This was the very same jewel that she had given Inuyasha. It had somehow made its way to Kagome.

"How do we find Inuyasha with the jewel?" Miroku asked, curious. Kagome frowned, biting the inside of her cheek. In truth, she had no idea _what _she was supposed to do with the jewel. "Maybe," She said hesitantly, "You have to _will_ it…" Kouga nodded, encouraging her, "That sounds like a start-why don't you try it?"

Kagome set her jaw determinedly. Clasping the jewel in both hands, she closed her eyes and opened her mind. Almost immediately she found herself falling into a swirl of energy. She felt dazed and lost, her mind muddled by the new feeling. Searching for a foothold on her mind, a force steadied her. She was suddenly calm and her mind was clear. She looked behind her, to find that everyone was there. She motioned for them to follow her. Taking a deep breath, she followed that calming force until she found what she had seemed to be searching for. It was an opening in the abyss, just big enough to see a pinprick of light on the other side.

Poking at the opening, she found to her surprise, that it grew larger. Soon, found herself looking over what seemed to be a village. There were clusters of small huts on the outskirts of a large forest, which went on all the way to the horizon. Before she knew what was happening, she felt herself falling. Her mind shut down completely and she lost all consciousness long before she neared the ground. The girl and her companions landed in a grassy meadow bordered by trees.

Smiling to herself, the spirit Midoriko watched over their sleeping forms, propping herself against an old well. _Sleep my children, for a great many trials lie ahead when you wake._

Next Chapter:

We're Not in Tokyo Anymore


	20. We're Not in Tokyo Anymore

Hello my faithful readers! Speaking of faithful, I hate to seem ungrateful, but if people don't review, I don't know how I'm doing… Reviews are ways for the reader to actually give feedback to the writer so that we can improve our writing so the reader can enjoy it more (if you get my drift). So people, take time to read, then take a small bit more to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, and what needs improvement. Trust me, a little comment goes a long way!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Inuyasha (though contrary to popular belief, I _do _own his ears), nor do I own any of the Bob Marley song that is included in this chapter (Random fact: when Bob Marley died, they found more than 100 species of lice in his dreadlocks… _ewww_). Read on:

Recap:

Poking at the opening, she found to her surprise, that it grew larger. Soon, found herself looking over what seemed to be a village. There were clusters of small huts on the outskirts of a large forest, which went on all the way to the horizon. Before she knew what was happening, she felt herself falling. Her mind shut down completely and she lost all consciousness long before she neared the ground. The girl and her companions landed in a grassy meadow bordered by trees.

Smiling to herself, the spirit Midoriko watched over their sleeping forms, propping herself against an old well. _Sleep my children, for a great many trials lie ahead when you wake._

Chapter 20

We're Not In Tokyo Anymore

Miroku woke to the sound of a bird whistling an eerie tune high above him. As his eyes cleared, he looked around, trying to remember where on earth he was. He was, as it happened, in the middle of a meadow, the trees surrounding it casting a dappled effect on the cool grass. It almost seemed like a dream-world; a place untouched by technology, people and the modern world. The only thing that seemed to suggest a human presence was an old well, but it looked as though it had not been used for a very long time. This world was pure and fragile and magical.

Then the memories came flooding back to him: Midoriko, the Jewel, and strangely enough, a recollection of falling. He shook his head, and put a hand to his forehead in an attempt to connect all of those memories to what was happening to him now. He glanced around himself again, looking closer at his surroundings. He looked at his own clothes, puzzled. He was wearing a deep blue robe of a monk. Glancing around he saw that he wasn't the only one who's clothes were different.

A few feet away from him, his six companions lay sleeping peacefully. His eyes softened as they fell on Sango. Her mouth was turned down slightly, though she didn't seem troubled, and her lips were parted somewhat. She had a simple yukata on, though he saw black fabric peaking out from underneath the clothing. He reached out a hand and stroked her face with the back of his hand, relishing the warmth and softness of her skin.

She stirred slightly, and he pulled is hand away as her eyes fluttered open. Groaning, she sat up, putting a hand to her throbbing head. Slumping back down to the grass, she squinted up through the branches of the overlying trees, letting her eyes adjust to the light. She turned her head slightly, wrinkling her nose as the grass tickled her cheek. Opening her eyes wider, she looked at the man sitting upright next to her.

She smiled slightly, "Hey." He grinned back at her, offering a hand to help her up to a sitting position. "I'm guessing you have more of an idea of where we are than I do?" Sango shrugged, throwing her head back and taking a deep breath. She savored the musty smell of the forest, amazed at the pureness of the air; much different than Tokyo air. "All I know is that we are definitely not in Tokyo anymore."

Miroku surveyed the others attire. Rin and Sesshomaru's clothing seemed almost exactly the same, though a little old fashioned. Kikyo wore the white haori and red pants of a priestess and Koga had an interesting costume of what looked like a combination of animal skins and feudal armor. It was a little hard to look at, because it was almost as short, maybe even shorter, than Kagome's own skirt. Speaking of the girl, she was the only one who's costume hadn't changed. She was still in her school uniform, her skirt riding up slightly on her well shaped-

The two's talk was cut short as the others began to stir. Koga was helping a dishelved looking Kikyo to her feet as Rin bounced on Sesshomaru's stomach, singing, "Rise up this morning, smile at the rising sun, three little birds sit by my doorstep, singing sweet songs of melodies pure and true… singing this is my message to you-u-u…" The designer finally had to physically lift the girl off of him to get up. They were all very interested in their new attire as well.

The group discovered that not only did they have new garments, but were also equipped with weapons. Sango had a large bone boomerang, Kikyo and Kagome each had a bow and quiver of arrows, Sesshomaru two large swords strapped to his waist, and Miroku a staff. Rin and Koga were the only ones without weapons, but the young doctor swore he felt stronger. Rin demonstrated her new strength on Koga's leg.

The only one not awake was Kagome. It didn't look as though she would be waking anytime soon either.

Inuyasha hopped decisively down from his perch on the tree branch. He probably shouldn't be hanging around anymore, judging by how the stranger had reacted to his new ears. Besides his new senses, Inuyasha had found that his clothes had changed. He was now dressed in a red haori and pants, which didn't fit quit as comfortably as his usual jeans and t-shirt. He had come to the conclusion that there was something unnatural going on. It had _taken_ him long enough. Though he was enjoying his new senses, he could tell that they were certainly not human.

Now Inuyasha wasn't the superstitious type. In fact, he didn't believe in anything at all, and definitely not magic. But there seemed to be no logical explanation for the fact that he had ended up in what he now believed to be feudal Japan. He almost expected a fake wall to fall down, and all of his friends jump out to yell "surprise!", but as minutes passed, it became more and more clear that this, whatever it was, wasn't a joke.

Sheltering himself in the shadows of a large tree, Inuyasha watched curiously as his ears picked up the sound of many more footsteps. His nose was throbbing and by the smell of it, the man had brought more than a dozen men back with him. Inuyasha cringed as the smell of burning tar and wood met his nose at full blast. Blocking out the stench, he lifted his head slightly out from behind the tree to catch sight of his pursuers. There were indeed about a dozen men, carrying torches. They were all clothed in feudal garments, and their ages ranged from about twelve to fifty years old.

Sliding down to seat himself on the leafy ground under the tree, he tried to make as little noise as possible. He didn't have to worry, the villagers (for that was who he assumed they were) were making so much of a hullabaloo that they probably wouldn't notice if he ran out and did a tap dance for them. Sighing softly, he steeled himself for a long wait on the hard ground. He knew his butt was going to be sore after this experience.

"-Are you sure it was a demon?" Inuyasha heard a skeptical voice ask.

"Yes!" Another voice countered. Inuyasha assumed that this was the man who had spotted him, "I saw it with my own eyes-cat ears! Cat ears I tell you!" Inuyasha was silently fuming. _Cat _ears? He knew somehow that whatever he had become, it didn't have anything to do with those _things_. He sniffed as he fingered his _dog_ ears, staring holes in the tree in front of him.

A stranger watched the mismatched group from the future through a mirror, amused. He laughed slightly, motioning a pale young girl to take wipe the mirror of the image. She finished erasing the mirror and now stared blankly at the stranger. "What will you do now?" She asked, her voice bland and without emotion. The man smiled peculiarly, his eyes glinting. He reached a hand beneath his robe to touch the scar splayed across his back. "Let's leave them be for now. Kanna, show me Inuyasha, I would like to know how he is faring." The girl nodded and held the mirror up for the man to see as a young man with silver hair and dog ears hop down from a scraggly tree on the outskirts of a forest and a village.

The seven young men and women made their way through the forest, following the smells of wood smoke to what they hoped was a human habitation. They were unaware of the danger that loomed, their reflections upon the pale girl's mirror. It was easy going, except for the fact that Kagome was unconscious. This meant that the men in the party switched off holding her while the women carried the weapons that the men couldn't carry.

As the sun dipped below the trees, and the shadows began to lengthen, an opening in the trees appeared ahead of them. Rin ran ahead of the others, her excitement getting the better of her. She was almost to the edge of the trees when she tripped, letting out a startled cry. Sesshomaru, hearing her cry, sped up instinctively, his eyes searching the shadows for the girl. When he had awoken, his senses seemed inhumanly in tune with the world around him. He could _sense_ the girl before he saw her.

The young girl looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the colors of the sunset. She was positioned on her backside, hands and knees dirtied by her fall. Sesshomaru's eyes darted to the thing that had tripped her. Except that it wasn't a _thing_. It was a person, and not just any person. His familiar silver hair shone in the dying light, dog-like ears flicking even in sleep. His eyes were closed, his breathing deep and steady. He should have known. Inuyasha could sleep just about anywhere, regardless.

Sesshomaru kicked his half-brother slightly, to no avail. He hadn't expected the young man to wake up. As the others caught up with him, he examined Inuyasha's new ears. _So, _he thought, _It must be from our father. Though I won't pass up the chance to call his mother a dog-that should be interesting. _Kikyo was the first to step up behind him. "Inuyasha," She whispered under her breath, a surprised tone showed through her usually emotionless demeanor, "How?" Sesshomaru heard a gasp from Sango as she also caught sight of the sleeping young man.

"What the-?" Koga's voice was almost disgusted, though in it's own way relieved. It was better to have the guy alive and annoying than dead. The companions, in a quick assessment of the situation at hand, decided it was better to put the village on hold for a while and make up camp on the edge of the forest. You never knew how people in these parts reacted to guys with dog ears, or for that matter, strangers.

Kikyo immediately took the leadership position and set everyone to a task. Koga, with his newfound speed and strength would collect firewood. Miroku, who had once been a boy scout (before he was kicked out for lighting his leader's tent on fire), set to work on the fire, while Sango and Rin went to find a water source. Sesshomaru was assigned the task of guarding the campsite, though he passed most of the time playing snake on his cell phone. Kikyo on the other hand, made herself useful by using her skills in archery, learned while still in high school, to bring back a pheasant and a large rabbit to cook on the now happily crackling fire.

Kagome still showed no signs of waking, her mind dreaming of another world. A world where they _should _have been, yet were not.

**To clear some things up: **

In the first part of this story, Inuyasha supposedly had "dog ears". These were actually fake. It didn't seem too clear because all that was mentioned of it was a random thought about how Kagome thought that the ears were probably fake. Also, when Kagome makes him put that hat on to cover his ears; she is just assuming that they don't come off. Trust me, Inuyasha secretly _loved _wearing that hat… Sorry that was so confusing!

The views about a certain furry animal that meows expressed by Inuyasha in this chapter do NOT reflect the authors own opinions… I love kitties!


	21. Under a Familiar Sky

Okay, first, I have to say: SORRY! Because I screwed up when I uploaded chapter 19 and chapter 20, so please don't kill me! It's all fixed now (I hope…).

Also, I have to apologize (though I have no control over this…) that is having problems with its email notification service, so some of you didn't know I updated…

Yeah, as you can tell, I am in a horrible mood. That would be because for the last week I haven't been able to use the computer AT ALL because of a virus (technically a 'worm') that got into our system. So, I'm just starting to write after an entire week of sitting in wait. glares at screen in attempt to set it on fire so, here, without further ado is the new chapter. I might not update for a while, because I have hardly any motivation due to that stupid email notification thing (motivationreviews ). You guys get my drift.

**Note: If you didn't get a notification that my new chapter went up either, please contact me (via email; and tell me if you would like me to email you to let you know I updated. Thanks guys . **

Recap:

Kikyo immediately took the leadership position and set everyone to a task. Koga, with his newfound speed and strength would collect firewood. Miroku, who had once been a boy scout (before he was kicked out for lighting his leader's tent on fire), set to work on the fire, while Sango and Rin went to find a water source. Sesshomaru was assigned the task of guarding the campsite, though he passed most of the time playing snake on his cell phone. Kikyo on the other hand, made herself useful by using her skills in archery, learned while still in high school, to bring back a pheasant and a large rabbit to cook on the now happily crackling fire.

Kagome still showed no signs of waking, her mind dreaming of another world. A world where they _should _have been, yet were not.

Chapter 21

Under a Familiar Sky

Dedicated to:

Sesshomaru'sbabygrl (for putting me on her favorites list )

And to:

VampireMistress99 for pointing out my obvious skills (or lack thereof) for uploading things, yay!

Inuyasha woke the next morning feeling refreshed, though a little bit pained by a small rock digging into his backside. Leaning to one side, he brushed himself off. He shifted his weight to the hand holding him up, and pushed himself up off the ground. His legs were a little unsteady, because they had fallen asleep, and he braced himself against the tree that he had been sleeping against. He now felt the indents on his back where the tree bark had marked him. Rubbing the spots, he looked around him, freezing in mid groan.

He was smack dab in the middle of what seemed like a make-shift campsite. A pile of ash encircled by rocks marked the fire, and he could smell that it was fresh; probably from the night before. He also caught the scent of cooked meat, making his stomach grumble loudly, reminding him how hungry he was. He surveyed the camp a little more. There were no tents or bedrolls, but there seemed to be fairly large piles of leaves in different placed that bore both the shape and smell of people. Something in the back of his head rang a bell. Something here was _very _familiar.

Sitting back against the tree, Inuyasha listened. A faint, rhythmical sound came from close by. As the boy listened harder, he realized it was someone breathing. Following the sound, his eyes came to a halt on a small form, only about three or four feet away from him, sprawled out on one of the piles of leaves. It was Kagome.

Sango shuddered as the ice cold water of the stream coursed playfully around her bare legs. If she wasn't awake already, this had definitely done the trick. Regretting that she had no soap, let alone a bathing suit, she made her way slowly into the water the rest of the way, trying to get used to the cold. Giving up on that approach, she dove in head first, and smiled happily as she opened her eyes under water. This world was serene and silent, the water crystal clear. A small school of fish flashed like silver coins through the water, stirring the bottom sediment slightly.

Her body broke the water, sending ripples across the sluggishly moving water. A rustling in the bushes startled her out of her reverence. "Who's there?" She demanded, dismayed at the small tremble of fear that she found in her voice. Sango was a strong, self-defending young woman, but this world was not her own, and it gave her a growing sense of unease.

Another rustle from the foliage caused the girl to crouch low into the water, wishing for the world that she had her clothes. She bit her lip as a stone from the bottom of the stream started to dig into her tender heel. Then an idea came to her. Leaning a bit more into the water, she picked up a handful of stones. Choosing an especially heavy rock, she aimed at the bush and swung her arm back, letting the stone fly from her fingers. There was a soft _thud _and a cry and she heard something large hit the ground. Wading quickly through the water, she made her way to the shore, giving the shrub a wide berth.

She grabbed and donned her clothes, not caring that she was still wet, and picked up a large stick she had found the night before: it was always better to be armed when alone. She went over to examine the thing she hat hit more closely, but to her dismay, it was already gone. Glancing around suspiciously, she jogged towards the direction of camp, not noticing the person hiding behind an especially large tree, a comical bump on his head, a contented smile on his face, staff in hand.

Sesshomaru's backside was beginning to ache. It was probably the work of the especially large rock he was perched on, and the young girl who insisted on sitting on it as well, driving him to sit halfway off of the boulder. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions to be in, to say the least. He stuffed his cellphone a little too forcefully back into his pocket, cool eyes not reflecting his apparent annoyance. He had tried for the last hour to get his cellphone to work, with no success. He had even had Rin climb a tree (which she was most willing to do) to try and get better reception, at no avail. It seemed as though he was stuck in a place with no technology whatsoever, no way to contact the normal world. At least he had games on his phone.

As if on cue he heard a dreaded, muffled beeping from inside his pocket. Slowly, trying not to crush the small device, he drug the phone from the depths of his pockets just as the light flared out of the screen. He watched as the screen displayed two blinking words before completely turning off: _RECHARGE BATTERY_. Sighing agitatedly, the designer tossed the phone over to Rin. She caught it, and stared at it in reverence, looking up at Sesshomaru, eyes wide. "For me?" She asked, eyes tilting upwards to form crescents.

"Do as you wish with it." Sesshomaru waved a hand at her, and she hopped off the rock, bowing formally. "I'll call him Poncho!" Sesshomaru looked up at the clear blue sky, a sight the Tokyoite had seen few times in his life, as if to ask _what did I do to deserve the weird one_, As Rin flounced off with the newly christened "Poncho".

Bracing one foot on a knee-height boulder, Kouga stared out at the land that stretched below him. It was a strange sight. There were no cars, no paved roads, no skyscrapers, just miles of green forest, farmland, small huts that formed primitive villages and in the far distance, a large mountain. It had been worth the climb up the hill to see this.

"Beautiful isn't it?" He asked, sensing the woman in back of him before he saw her. He was amazed at how much he could sense now, after the crossing into this place. Kikyo settled down on the boulder, not minding that she had force the doctor's foot from it. "I'm guessing that the priestess Midoriko has transported us back in time-from the looks of it, the Feudal Era." Kouga raised an eyebrow, surveying the closest village, and where it was in location to their campsite. "I wouldn't know," he said finally, I don't really know a lot about Japanese history."

"Nor would I expect you to. You _are _an American." She said, a hint of humor in her voice.

"And that was supposed to mean what?" Kouga asked, feigning hurt at her jab.

"Nothing," the singsong tone in her voice echoing out over the trees.

When Sango neared camp, she was met with the sound of yelling. Kikyo was there, so was Kouga. The yelling was coming from an awake, and very disgruntled Inuyasha. "What the _hell_ did you do to her?" He yelled, the force of his words reigning upon an unsuspecting Kouga. Getting himself under control, the older man took Inuyasha firmly by the shoulders. Inuyasha broke away, "Don't you touch me you asshole!" he seemed to calm down a little, getting his anger under control. He plopped himself down on one leaf-bed, raising clouds of dust that circled in eddies through the beams of light that made their way into the clearing.

"Inuyasha, Kagome is _fine_," Kouga explained calmly, "She just needs to sleep. She used up a lot of her energy to bring us here. It took a lot out of her to transport seven people and herself five hundred year into the past you know." Sango gasped at this. _Five hundred years into the-did he say-**past**?_ Kouga waved a hello to Sango as Inuyasha whirled around, surprised. Kouga cleared his throat, "It seems even with heightened senses you don't pay enough attention." He couldn't resist the jab. Inuyasha glared, barely resisting the urge to slug Kouga across his smart, know-it-all face. Instead, he asked Sango, "There are more of you?"

Sango nodded, "There's Miroku, Sesshomaru-" Here she was cut off as Inuyasha let out a string of curse words. "_He's _here?" Sango nodded, ignoring Inuyasha's annoyance, "-and Rin, Sesshomaru's foster child."

"Now he's a pedophile," Inuyasha grumbled, wondering how in the world he had gotten himself five hundred years into the past with a cocky, flirtatious doctor, his stuck-up, and apparently now child-molesting half-brother, his ex-girlfriend, his substitute teacher, Kagome, Sango and some random little loser kid. This whole thing was getting stranger and stranger.

As if on cue, Inuyasha's ears perked upright, catching the sound of footsteps. Miroku brushed aside a low-hanging branch as he entered the clearing, followed by a young girl who could only be Rin. Sango waved him over. Miroku raised an eyebrow as he noticed Inuyasha, "Looks like sleeping beauty's finally woken up," He said, oblivious to the tension in the air around him. Bending down to Rin he told her, "I have to start up the fire to boil water I brought back from the stream for breakfast, why don't you tag along with Inuyasha for a while?" Rin nodded happily and proceeded to introduce a bewildered Inuyasha to her new pet cellphone, Poncho. He didn't find it too funny.

"Leave me alone, squirt! Go bother someone else," he said, prying the child's iron grip away from his sleeve, "Isn't Sesshomaru supposed to be watching you?" Rin shook her head gravely, then whispered to Inuyasha, "Sesshomaru-sama instructed me to," At this point the young girl lowered her voice in mock imitation of the designer, " 'do as you wish' with Poncho, and to "leave him alone as he contemplated the fact that he was now completely isolated from anything of intelligence'." Inuyasha made a _phft_ noise, and retorted, "Whatever that means."

When breakfast, which consisted of fish seasoned with a few herbs Kikyo and Kouga had found on their hike, was over, the group decided it was time to establish a course of action. Kouga was the first to speak up, "I spotted a village just beyond the trees, hardly two miles away from here, on my hike. We could make our way there and find an inn or something." Miroku shook his head, "I don't think there will _be _an inn-and for that matter, how would we pay, the money five hundred years ago is different than the money today, and I don't think we had anything to trade except for Sango and Sesshomaru's cell phones," Glancing over at Rin he added, "One of which doesn't even work.

Rin pulled the little device close to her and retorted, "Poncho isn't going to be traded, not on my life." At this, Inuyasha grumbled under his breath, "We _could _just trade the runt _and _the phone." Sango elbowed him in the ribcage roughly. "Well, it was just an idea."

"Why don't we just go to the village and decide what to do when we get there?" This was Sesshomaru. Sango nodded her agreement, "We can always beg some nice old lady to let us stay a while. If worse come to worse, I'll-" She paused; as if it was hard for her to go on, "-I'll trade my cellphone…" she shuddered at the thought, as protective of her phone as Rin was of Poncho, though not in the same sort of way.

When everyone agreed to the terms, the eight misplaced people set out for the village. Only when they were almost halfway to the village did Inuyasha mention his encounter with the villagers. The rest of the group didn't take the information too well.

"Well thanks for telling us now, mutt-face," Kouga said callously, glaring at the younger man, "There goes my hopes of sleeping indoors tonight. No way they're gonna let someone with a tail get into their village if they couldn't handle a pain of kitty ears."

"They're dog ears, bastard." Inuyasha fumed, hiking the sleeping Kagome up over his shoulder a bit more to relieve his back slightly.

"In any case," Kikyo's cool voice cut in, "You two, as well as you Sesshomaru will do better to sleep outside the village until Kagome wakes." Inuyasha did not counter her, easily silenced by that all too familiar voice. A voice that stirred emotions that he thought had been long gone. Nor did Kouga counter her, for he knew better than to anger this strangely calm, yet threatening woman. Sesshomaru wasn't paying attention, but when he did find out, he sighed, raising a delicate brow at his brother. "I should have known my idiot brother would ruin my chances of a reasonable night's sleep."

It was almost twilight when the company reached the village, the two demons, one half-demon, splitting from the others. The humans made their way into the village, where they were greeted kindly at the sight of Miroku's Buddhist monk attire, and Kikyo's Shinto priestess clothing. They were given a room in the headman's residence, as well bedrolls, rice, and a few necessities like soap, flint (Miroku had used the ole stick-and-tinder method) and some strips of dried meat. The headman, a kind old gentleman, assured them that Kagome would be looked at by the village healer in the morning.

Inuyasha, Kouga, and Sesshomaru, on the other hand, spent the night out in the cold. Inuyasha chose to perch himself in the old tree in which he had been spotted by the villager the day before. He wasn't afraid of a few angry villagers, especially as they were more scared of him. He looked up at the sky above him. It was clear, without a cloud in its inky darkness. The stars twinkled, as if winking at him. And there was the moon, a giant crescent of light, casting his shadow on the grass below the tree. It was the same sky he saw outside his bedroom window in Tokyo, however different it felt. It gave him comfort that he had found something familiar in this sea of strange new things.

Whew! Glad that chapter's done! I hope you enjoyed it. I meant to update yesterday, but my mother decided to drag my dad and I to a FIVE HOUR seventies concert. Needless to say, I had fallen asleep halfway through. Not to be offensive to those out there who like seventies music, but it sucked. All of the performers were _way_ past their prime, and the entire concert consisted of mushy-lovey-dovey "pudding" music. You know, that bland, put-your-kids-to-sleep, elevator music. Bleh.


	22. Rain Talk

Hello peoples! Yay, I gots reviews (and yeah…). My catch phrase for the week: Good Stuff. So, everyone should go around saying to random people you see on the street "Good Stuff". Lol, just kidding, don't be like me, you may be arrested for unnecessary harassment or something… Unless you _want _to, then go right ahead…

Recap:

Inuyasha, Kouga, and Sesshomaru, on the other hand, spent the night out in the cold. Inuyasha chose to perch himself in the old tree in which he had been spotted by the villager the day before. He wasn't afraid of a few angry villagers, especially as they were more scared of him. He looked up at the sky above him. It was clear, without a cloud in its inky darkness. The stars twinkled, as if winking at him. And there was the moon, a giant crescent of light, casting his shadow on the grass below the tree. It was the same sky he saw outside his bedroom window in Tokyo, however different it felt. It gave him comfort that he had found something familiar in this sea of strange new things.

Chapter 22

Rain Talk

Dedicated to: Brandtishot and b A b ik A o R i

for putting me on their happy happy favorites list of yum

and other good stuff (don't even ask…)

Dark purple clouds rolled angrily across the sky, boiling and swirling in what seemed like personified rage. Inuyasha turned his face upwards and caught a drop of water on his face as it fell from the sky. It trickled down his cheek, leaving a wet trail that felt like a teardrop. The Hanyou, for that, it seemed, was what the villagers had taken to calling him, hastily wiped the liquid from his face, as if ashamed by it.

More rain started to fall, at first a light sprinkling, then escalading until the drops spattered against the ground like miniature hammers. Inuyasha made his way under the trees that bordered the forest, shielding himself from the downpour. Sesshomaru, it seemed, had already taken it upon himself to do the same. He sat under a particularly large tree, its leafy bows blocking even the smallest trickle. Inuyasha shot a furtive glance at the demon before making it a point to avoid his tree. Instead, the younger brother resigned himself to a smaller tree, not as far away from the other man as he would have hoped.

There was silence as the two brothers watched the rain fall. For Inuyasha it seemed like hours had passed before Sesshomaru's soft voice broke through the rhythmic sound of the rain. "The rain smells different here," He said, as if to no one in particular. Inuyasha scoffed, though it was half-heartedly. He was right. Everything was different here, everything was unfamiliar and Inuyasha didn't know in the slightest how to handle such a sudden change. It seemed almost alien to him, something so different from what he was used to that he was convinced that there was something wrong with it.

Inuyasha didn't reply to the older man, nor did Sesshomaru expect him to. The statement was thrown out just to be there; what it actually meant reached far beyond just a statement. It was a key into what the two men both felt, and yet had no idea that the other did too. It was as if some higher being had connected the two together, through one sentence; the tip of an iceberg so vast that it was far too beyond logical explanation for either to comprehend.

And so, the two sat there, that night, staring out into the growing shadows, each thinking their own thoughts; the pitter-pattering of the rain, the only sound that echoed through the trees. The rain lasted through the morning the next day; the second day of separation from the group. In the pre-dawn light, Sesshomaru shifted from his post, a watch guard finished with a shift, in search of the stream they had come across when they had camped in the forest only a few days before. Inuyasha trudged wearily after him, keeping a safe distance behind his demonic half brother.

Inuyasha made his way up the stream a little higher than Sesshomaru to ensure that all of the soapsuds, from the soap that Miroku had snuck out to him on the first morning of the separation, would go to good use floating down the river and contaminating whatever water Sesshomaru was using. When Inuyasha had finished, he made his way back to his own tree, deciding to take a nap to pass the time. If Sesshomaru had noticed anything peculiar, Inuyasha couldn't tell, though he was greeted with a few small rodents burrowing through his food packs when he woke up. He came to the immature conclusion that it was somehow Sesshomaru's fault. Exhaling exasperatedly, Inuyasha shoo-ed the rodents away and tied what was left of his food with a tight knot that he hoped would keep the pests away.

He sighed disappointedly as he surveyed the sky. Dark gray clouds advanced steadily over the tree-tops, and he had a feeling it was going to be another wet night. As if catering to his dreary thoughts, the first spatterings of rain formed small dark spots on the already wet earth. Inuyasha didn't know how many more wet nights he would be able to handle.

To his dismay, drops of water began to wet his hair and face as they leaked through the supposedly protective canopy of the tree. He stole a furtive glance over in Sesshomaru's direction. From the looks of it his brother wasn't having any problems with his shelter. Muttering unhappily under his breath, Inuyasha pulled his haori over his head a bit to keep his hair relatively dry so as he wouldn't catch a cold at least. _You better hurry up and get better soon Kagome…_

The rain fell steadily outside, and hit the roof of the headman's hut with a brisk pattering noise. Sango brushed a hair off of her brow as she leaned over Kagome once more, hoping that the roof was sturdier than it appeared to be. She half expected the rickety old thing to cave in over her head at any second. Sango wondered how Koga, Sesshomaru, and Inuyasha were doing. If this rain was any hint, their three nights "bonding with nature" hadn't been pleasant ones.

Kagome stirred in her sleep, whimpering slightly. Sango, brow furrowed, cooed softly to the girl. Kagome's face went bland again and Sango felt her muscles relax and ease. Everyone was worried about her, since she hadn't awakened since they had arrived, but the village healer assured them that nothing out of the ordinary was wrong, she was just tired. When the healer had left, Kikyo inferred that the reason Kagome was sleeping for so long was because she had not known exactly how to use the jewel; therefore, in the process of transporting them to another world, she used much of her own power as well, and depleted most of her strength.

Whatever the cause, Kagome's state did not help soothe Sango's already frazzled nerves. A large, gentle hand found its resting spot at the small of her back. Too tired to even jump from surprise, she lifted her head slowly to look at the hand's owner. Miroku smiled warmly back at her. His face was so close to hers that she could smell the heady, spicy fragrance of his breath that mingled with the clean smell of soap. For a moment it seemed as though time had stopped altogether, and Sango felt herself leaning closer, remembering the soft touch of his lips on her own. The moment was shattered as the sound of a screen door opening shook Sango out of her dream state.

"Miroku, can you please hurry up and give Sango that cloth?" Kikyo's matter-of-fact voice resonated in the pregnant silence of the room, "Rin needs to be put down for bed, and I have to go find that old healer." Miroku nodded blandly and handed Sango the freshly dampened cloth. She turned away from the two adults, trying to hide her blazing cheeks. Had she just imagined that anything had even happened? Feeling childish and embarrassed, Sango made herself busy positioning the cloth on Kagome's forehead. She sighed with chagrin as she heard the screen door thud shut behind Miroku. _Why am I acting this way?_ She asked herself, puzzled. _It's not like I'm still in love with him, right?_

Kikyo found the old healer in her hut, warming her bony, sticklike fingers in front of the fire. The flames cast a strange light upon her gaunt face, giving her the appearance of something more than human. Kikyo held back a shudder as she settled herself on the other side of the fire, bowing slightly to her elder. The woman nodded back, acknowledging her. "What would you like from me, priestess?" Kikyo raised an eyebrow at the older woman.

"Tell me," She said, amused, "You know more than you let on, don't you grandmother?" The healer cocked her head to one side, smiling crookedly at Kikyo. "You're not from this world; I can sense it in your aura. You are much stronger than an ordinary priestess, and the young girl's clothing is like nothing we have ever seen before." Kikyo nodded in comprehension.

"Can you help us to get back to our own world?" The healer did not look in the least surprised that her assumption had been correct. Instead she shook her head sadly, saying, "I am just a modest village healer, _priestess_, I would not be able to help you on your journey." Kikyo bowed her head to hide her obvious disappointment. "Thank you for all of your help grandmother," She paused, raising her head to reveal pleading eyes, "Is there any way to get back?"

The two women lapsed into silence as the healer thought for a few minutes. Finally she said, "There is one that I have heard of, but-", the woman shook her head, and strands of her thin gray hair loosed itself from her tight bun. Kikyo looked at her curiously, prompting, "But?" The woman exhaled, as if this conversation was physically tiring for her.

"It is not a path that I would recommend going down. It is filled with mishap and sorrow; there is nothing good that could come from it." Kikyo was becoming impatient with the old woman and her obvious avoidance of the topic in which she herself had mentioned. "Just tell me, for Kami's sake," She said exasperatedly.

The old woman, sensing her vexed mood, hurried to blurt her explanation out, "The only way that I know to get you home, the only power strong enough to save you, would be that of the demon mage Naraku." Kikyo flinched as a tendril of pain pierced her heart. She put a hand to her chest, as if to stop it, but it had already dissipated. "Naraku," She whispered, unsure as to why her voice was so hoarse, "Are you absolutely sure that he is called _Naraku_?"

Rin's chest rose and fell rhythmically with her soft breathing, challenging the harshness of the sound of the rain crashing down around the hut. Besides the sleeping girl, Miroku was alone in the room. Kikyo had gone to speak with the village healer, the demons were spending a wet night outside, and Sango was tending to an unconscious Kagome. The young man ran a careful hand across his mouth, remembering the soft touch of lips, the sweet scent of shampoo and flowers. It had seemed like a passing daydream. _Was that what it had been?_ He wondered, _Just a dream?_

The door slid open softly and Sango entered the room, quietly sitting down next to Miroku. For a while the two just sat, listening to the rain. Sango was the first to speak, hesitantly, as a child testing the freezing water of a lake before plunging in, "Miroku, I-"

If the silence had seemed stifling to Miroku, this feeling that was uncurling in his stomach was even worse. The feeling was so strong that it felt like a tremendous weight was pressing down on him. Suddenly, before he truly understood what he was doing, Miroku took Sango's face in his hands and kissed her tenderly upon the mouth. Breaking away from the girl, he lowered his head, mortified at himself. He hefted himself off the ground, beginning to leave, but stopping as he felt a soft hand grasp his shoulder.

"Please stay," She whispered, cheeks burning, a tendril of some strange emotion unfurling within the depths of her heart, "Stay with me." Miroku took a firm but gentle hold on Sango's hand, pulling her up to meet his lips. He kissed her again then, but more passionately, hesitance left behind. Miroku pulled her close to him, running his fingers through her hair, across her face, down her back, re-acquainting himself with the feelings he knew he should have never forgotten.

Neither knew how long they stayed like that, enjoying the feel of their bodies against each other, nourishing the longing that went so long without fulfillment, but when Kikyo came back from her quite different talk with the old crone, there was one extra bed roll that wasn't filled.

Wow. sighs romantically I didn't think that would happen quite the way it _happened_, but it did, and I liked it. I hope everyone really enjoyed this chapter (and its super-duper-mega-extra helping of fluff), if you did you know what to do! REVIEW! Yay!

Reviews:

Sesshomaru'sbabygrl: Yeah… computer viruses, and anything screwy on the computer for that matter, suck. I always have to take the damn thing in for repairs. It's like a twenty year old cat with liver problems that you spend thousands of dollars on and it still doesn't get any better.


	23. Lost Souls

I think I'm developing carpal tunnel (at this early age !)…owwie. So, here is another chapter done and finished. I'm sorry that some of you guys "can't review", I came across that problem as well.

**Please do this for me (at least try!):**

Go to review and when the page comes up with no space to write, use the **horizontal **(that's across instead of up and down for those thick of head…) scroll and scroll to the right. When you are all the way scrolled over, you'll find the spaces to review and the button to submit it. I hope this was helpful!

Recap:

"Please stay," She whispered, cheeks burning, a tendril of some strange emotion unfurling within the depths of her heart, "Stay with me." Miroku took a firm but gentle hold on Sango's hand, pulling her up to meet his lips. He kissed her again then, but more passionately, hesitance left behind. Miroku pulled her close to him, running his fingers through her hair, across her face, down her back, re-acquainting himself with the feelings he knew he should have never forgotten.

Neither knew how long they stayed like that, enjoying the feel of their bodies against each other, nourishing the longing that went so long without fulfillment, but when Kikyo came back from her quite different talk with the old crone, there was one extra bed roll that wasn't filled.

Chapter 23

Lost Souls

Kouga wasn't prone to the outdoor life. His bond with nature extended to the annual two or three day family camping trips he had gone on as a child. Even then, he had spent the entire time in the mobile home trying to stay away from the mosquitoes and anything else (like the rabid squirrel that had chased after him on one trip) that might find it hilariously funny to torture him out of his mind. So, as you can imagine, he wasn't having the greatest time in the world sleeping out in the cold, weary, wet and with small animals crawling all over him.

He knew he should probably go and find were Inuyasha or that strange brother of his were sleeping, but even in the worst of situations, Kouga's pride drowned out any attempt at survival. He sat there under a fairly large tree just to find that three nights of soaking just made the largest tree have the largest drops of water. Hoping that the next day, the fourth day in this accursed forest, would bring sunshine, he nodded off against the hard, uncomfortable bark of the tree.

Kikyo sat with the others that night, as she knew she probably would for the rest of their stay in this village. She did not particularly want to speak to the villagers, nor especially to the healer. Instead, she sat that night and thought. She mused over the Shikon no Tama, its extraordinary power to create what never seemed even remotely tangible. What had Midoriko wanted them to do? What was choice she would have to make, and what did she have to choose? The goddess's words echoed in her mind, but something else nagged at her as well.

Naraku. Why did it bother her so much when the old healer had said his name? Maybe she had been mistaken, or maybe it was another Naraku. Surely the Naraku she had known in her time wouldn't have found a way into the past as well? She shook the thought from her mind. What nonsense! Of course he couldn't. It was probably just an outlandish coincidence; nothing more.

It was because of her obliviousness to the outside world that night that Kikyo never noticed what had happened between Sango and Miroku. If she had been attentive, she would have detected the secretive glances they shared, and how Sango blushed when Miroku's mouth twitched into a small smile. Rin, though, being her observational self, noted the change between them. She smiled impishishly up at the two of them, as if she understood things that others could only guess at, and grinned wider when Sango glared at her suspiciously.

Sango, Miroku and Rin went to bed as the candle began to sputter and burn out, devouring the last of the oil in the dish. Kikyo though, stayed awake, pulling the covers of her bedroll around her sitting form; just reflecting. Her eyes slanted in the dying light, watching the wraithlike shadows flit from wall to wall. As she watched, a figure of shadows formed in the gloom. It was hard to make out his facial features, and there was no apparent color to him, but she could tell just by the way he stood, who he was. She slumped against the wall, suddenly so tired she struggled to keep her eyes open.

The next morning when she woke up, she would have no recollection of the night's happenings, nor of the strange dream she had had when she had finally fallen asleep; the eerie delusion of Naraku, beckoning to her to join the shadows.

On the fifth night since Kagome's pale form had disappeared from view inside the headman's house, the sixth night in this strange new world, Inuyasha watched as lighting made its way through the sky, illuminating the silhouettes of the little forlorn huts. They swayed as the wind whistled through them, threatening to collapse them from their brittle frames.

By this time, both Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's trees were raining droplets down on their unprotected heads. Earlier in the week, Inuyasha might have taken the chance to sneer at the designer, his stylish clothing ruined, and his perfect tresses sodden and bedraggled, but his situation was the same, if not worse. His own hair stuck to his face, and as he attempted to brush it out of his eyes, sopping white tendrils clung to his cheeks, pleading not to be thrown back into the harsh wind of the storm.

Sesshomaru wasn't feeling too pleasant either. It wasn't as much the fact that he was as wet as a furry fish (_that's _wet), but more that he was stuck in the woods waiting for his brother's stupidly pathetic love interest to wake up from whatever dream she was having. It was lucky for her that she didn't have to be awake in such horrid weather, though, it was because of her that _he _was out in it instead. The man examined a delicate hand, his nails now long and tapered to a menacing point. Somewhere deep within him a tendril of hot emotion unfurled, coursing its way all the way to his very fingertips. It was _his _fault that they were 500 years in the past. If only he had stayed out of trouble in the first place.

It seemed no matter where Inuyasha went he left a trail of misfortune for Sesshomaru in his wake. I had always been his fault, even from the very beginning.

The wind was ebbing away from the village as the sun crept down behind the clouds, a tiny spot in a still rain-darkened sky. It was twilight on the sixth day since the eight companions had found their way to the village, and yet the storm prevailed. There seemed to be no end to the rain, as if a punishment for setting some inner balance swirling into oblivion.

The healer, her scraggly hair dividing her face, mumbled to herself as she poked at the fire. As she muttered, the fire twisted and churned, elongated fingers grasping an invisible force as they blended from orange to a light purple coloring. The old woman's eyes shot open momentarily, pupils lost into the back of her head, whites of her eyes the only thing visible. Blinking away the pain in her head, she watched the fire ebb back to its normal color.

Running bony fingers through her thinning hair, the healer took a deep breath to calm her thudding heart. It was unfortunate that the healer would not be able to tell the young priestess what she had seen, for at that very moment, a large insect imbedded itself in the loose flesh at the back of her neck. A searing fire of agony flamed up into her head, then died out almost instantaneously as she felt herself fall into the endless darkness of death.

"Murder, MURDER!" A shout rose from the village, startling a flock of jet black crows from the surrounding trees. The clouds had cleared from the sky, and the wind had picked up to howl through the doorways and cracks in the walls, probing at the very foundations of the huts. It was dawn in the little village, and a distressing atmosphere hung in the air.

Miroku, Sango, Kikyo and Rin filed out of the headman's hut groggily, awakened by the shouts. Before them was a small gathering of townsfolk, clustered around a man who had been shouting. The headman was already at the scene, trying to calm the villagers down. As the travelers pushed their way through the crowd to get a better look at what was distressing the people so, they came across an eerie scene.

Drawing back slightly at the arrival of the headman's "strange guests", the villagers surveyed them uneasily. Kikyo was the first to come closer, bending down to examine the cold corpse. It was unmistakenably the village healer, a look of utter pain contorting her warm, elderly features. Looking up from the body, Kikyo asked quietly, "Who did this?"

Angered, the yelling man retorted, "We were going to ask _you_ the same thing." Kikyo put a hand over the healer's eyes, closing them. She then stood to look at the man straight in the eye. "I am a priestess, my companion is a Buddhist monk," She gestured to Miroku, "A demon slayer, and a child." She glared at the man. "We are no murderers." The man cast his eyes to the ground as he muttered, "But what about the demons? _They _wouldn't hesitate to kill."

"_None _of my companions, demon or human, are killers." She said coldly, leaning over the body once more. Turning the old woman's head to one side, she drew back slightly as she caught sight of the back of her neck. There, buried deep into her flesh, was a large insect. Its putrid yellow coloring and large stinger could be seen protruding from the old woman's neck. Kikyo frowned slightly, wondering why the insect had acted so strangely. Why had it not used its stinger? It had instead buried head first, as a child would reach down a hole to retrieve a lost toy.

Just as she thought this, the stinger twitched slightly. Kikyo drew back farther from the body and watched in horror as the bug wriggled its way out of the healer's neck dragging a shimmering object out with its pincers. A frantic whispering went through the crowd at the sight of the creature. As if propelled by another force not her own, Kikyo reached out and smashed the insect against the woman's neck. As she did so, she brushed against the substance it was holding.

The effect was instantaneous. Kikyo's eyes rolled up into her head as strange images flashed before her. Unable to stop, nor control the flow of thoughts through her head, Kikyo blacked out, falling softly against the old woman's dead body. She did not know how long she had slept but when she awoke it was dark and she found herself looking up at the wooden rafters supporting the roof of the headman's hut. Drawing herself up quickly, she almost fainted again, but managed to hold on to her consciousness. Sighing, she rubbed her head in attempts to rid herself of the pain that was inching slowly behind her eyes.

Kikyo sunk back onto the pillow, closing her eyes against the darkness of the hut. _Why would someone want to steal her soul?_ Kikyo wondered as she fell into sleep again.

Inuyasha watched the fiery mass of the sun recede slowly back into the trees, dozing slightly as the last rays warmed his face, balancing on a tree limb that overlooked the forest for miles. His stomach growled, reminding him of how little food he had left in his bag and that he would have to go hunting if Kagome didn't wake up in the next two days or so. Inuyasha ran a hand worriedly over his ears, thinking of the girl. It was strange the way even now, even when he couldn't see her, the memory of her face made his stomach do a large somersault, made his heart to beat so fast that it threatened to burst out of his very chest.

The last spurt of light flailed helplessly as the darkness pulled it down into the depths of the forest. At first, Inuyasha felt as though he was plunged into utter darkness. Looking up, he searched the sky for the little sliver of moon that had seemed to watch over him as he slept. It was not there. _It must be a new moon_, he thought, rubbing a hand over his ears again (his new way of comforting himself). But, to his surprise, his newfound ears were gone. Running his hand down the side of his head he realized two more things: his claws had become human nails and his ears were back to normal. Laughing nervously, despite the feeling of dread that had burrowed into his stomach, Inuyasha slid down from his perch in the tree.

His dread deepened as he heard a snapping of twigs from behind him. He felt almost deaf, blind and unable to sense anything. His heightened senses had vanished with his ears. A shiver ran down his back as footsteps materialized out of the quiet darkness. "So, this is why they call you a half-breed," Sesshomaru's voice was as cold as the darkness, "I had heard rumors."

Inuyasha's head whipped around to glare at his half brother, sparks dancing behind his amber eyes. "What's it to you?" He demanded, frustrated that he ended up sounding like a fifth grader.

"I understand now why you ended up only a half-breed," Sesshomaru continued on, deaf to Inuyasha's childish anger. "It's because _you_, unlike me, were the product of a whim gone awry; a whim gone very awry." Inuyasha clenched his fists, squeezing so tightly that his nails dug into the flesh of his palm. "I don't know what you're getting at," he retorted, furrowing his brow deeper, "What are you trying to say?"

Sesshomaru examined his delicate hand, one eyebrow slightly cocked. "How many others besides your mother do you think there were?" He asked, amusement winding its way secretively into his voice. Inuyasha bent his knees unconsciously, as if preparing to use his fists against his brother. Realizing what he was doing, he relaxed slightly, deciding to hear Sesshomaru out, even if he had to endure the jabbing insults.

"My mother was high class," Sesshomaru said as he sat down on a rock. Inuyasha leaned his back up against the tree, sliding awkwardly to the ground. He felt unprotected, almost naked. Sesshomaru watched him with emotionless eyes as he shifted uncomfortably. "She was a model for all the most famous designers: Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton… she was at the peak of her career when she married our father." Sesshomaru spit out the last word, as if it was poison on his tongue.

"The years past, and he decided that he didn't love her anymore." Inuyasha frowned, wondering why his brother had decided to let him know this little bit of family history now. Though puzzled, he couldn't help feel interested as Sesshomaru told his tale. "And so, he took a mistress. Or maybe more than one, I'm not sure of the number. But she was beauty with a price tag. Sold off like nightly wares. _Your_ mother was dirty, and yet the one father treated like dirt was _my _mother."

"Take that back you bastard!" Inuyasha hissed loudly. It was all becoming clear now. The straw that broke the camel's back… the fact that Sesshomaru's mother had died and their father had married again was too much for him. And so he had to degrade the child of his father's second marriage, call Inuyasha illegitimate because of his own frustration. When he had seen what Inuyasha had become in this world, a cross between two different classes, two different _things_, he had snappedBut deep down, Inuyasha felt there was truth in what Sesshomaru was saying. For though as a young boy Inuyasha had been acquainted with his mother as the "stay-at-home-mom", there was a haunting beauty about her that told of much darker times.

"Don't run from the truth dear _brother_," Sesshomaru said, the amusement in his voice growing, "Don't hide from your past." Chuckling coldly, he asked, "Are you jealous? Are you jealous that he never really loved her, that he just kept her as an object?"

Inuyasha had endured the taunts from Sesshomaru for his entire life, from a small child the idea that he was impure, _dirty_, had always been ground into his head.

_Flashback_

_The young boy sat in the large, lion footed bathtub, his mother's kitchen soap and the steal wool she used for the dishes in his hands. As he scrubbed himself, he muttered under his breath, almost as to assure himself, "I'm not dirty, I'm clean, I'm clean…I'm clean, mommy…" His eyes began to water, tears finding their way down his cheeks as the steal wool tore into the soft flesh of his back. _

_A young woman, barely over twenty, burst into the bathroom, her long brown hair trailing furiously behind her. Grabbing the steel wool from the child's fingers, she hugged his naked form tightly to her chest. "Inuyasha," She whispered, sobbing into his soft silver hair, "Mommy loves you, mommy loves you…"_

_End of Flashback_

"My mother _loved _me, Sesshomaru. Did yours?" Sesshomaru pulled away from him then, hefting his body off of the rock. He turned his back to hide the fire that had started behind his own eyes. When he had made his way out of hearing distance, he whispered softly to himself, "No, but I loved her."

**Ultra Special End of Chapter Blah Blah**

Okay, I know everyone's dying to know when Kagome's going to wake up, if ever. Sooo, I promise I'll say next chapter, okay? Promise! Hope you liked this one, it's ultra long! If you did appreciate my extra uber hard work, REVIEW!


	24. End of the Storm

Ah, another week gone and past. This week I had a much needed break from school in the form of Spring Vacation… And so I procrastinated and wrote this all in one day before Monday. Phft, typical me. Anyways, here's the new chapter, LOTS of fluff, review or die…yadda yadda yadda…

Recap:

"My mother _loved _me, Sesshomaru. Did yours?" Sesshomaru pulled away from him then, hefting his body off of the rock. He turned his back to hide the fire that had started behind his own eyes. When he had made his way out of hearing distance, he whispered softly to himself, "No, but I loved her."

Chapter 24

End of the Storm

It was the same night that Inuyasha and Sesshomaru had that fateful talk in the forest, or maybe early the next day, that Kagome's eyes fluttered, opening slightly, as if afraid of what she would see once they were opened all of the way. Surveying the scene around her bed with interest, she rubbed her head to try to ebb the piercing pain that had screamed at her violently upon her awakening.

The forms around her were hazy and foreboding at first, but as her eyes adjusted slowly to the darkness, she realized who they were. Some were missing, three to be exact, if she had counted correctly. They were the sleeping bodies of Kikyo- her dark hair splayed around her porcelain face, glowing slightly in the night- and Rin, who could be distinguished by her small stature, her feet barely reaching halfway under her large blanket. And there were two others, who seemed to be sharing a blanket, though Kagome could not make out their faces. She guessed that Sango had finally had some much deserved luck in the romance department.

The thought brought a new pain, this one stabbing steadily at her heart. Had they found Inuyasha? Was he alright? And if so, where was he, as well as Kouga and Sesshomaru? She slid her hand slowly down her soft face, turning her eyes up to the small chunk of sky she could see through her window. There was no moon but the stars dotted the black blanket of sky like spots of white flour on a freshly washed business suit. Sighing, Kagome decided it best to sleep now and find the answers to her questions in the morning. She had only just encountered this thought when her eyes closed slowly and she sunk down back onto her pillow, asleep.

As the sun crept slowly up behind the trees, almost as if it were afraid to come out after such a long time, Sango opened her eyes to the light shining through the window. She immediately closed them again, because of the intense brightness, and enjoyed the warm feeling as her face was bathed in sunlight. Cupping a hand over her eyes to block out the sun, she sat up, stretching her arms to awaken herself.

She looked down at Miroku and smiled. His face in sleep was relaxed and blissful, not a care in the world seemed to cross through his mind. Brushing a strand of hair away from his face affectionately, she glanced around the room to see who else was awake. The small lump that was Rin was still rolled up in a large mess of blankets, and Kikyo as well was still asleep, judging by her deep even breaths. Sango sifted through the sleeping bodies until she could make her way to where Kagome was sleeping.

Almost immediately, Sango knew something was wrong. Kagome, who had stayed completely still during her coma-like sleep, had rolled to one side. Putting a hand on her shoulder to move the sleeping girl onto her back again, she felt the muscles beneath her fingers contract as Kagome jumped slightly. Sango watched in a shocked awe as Kagome sat up and smiled at Sango.

"Morning," She said groggily, "I was watching the sun come up." A single joyful tear ran down Sango's face as she embraced her friend tenderly. "Kagome," She said in a motherly way as the two pulled apart, "Do you have any idea how long you've been asleep?"

Kagome laughed, the sound tinkling into the fresh morning air. "I guess waking up at daybreak in now considered sleeping in then?" Sango shook her head, resting her back against the cool wood wall. "Kagome, you didn't sleep in. You literally slept for a week." Sango rubbed the sleep from her eyes, suddenly tired.

"A _week_?" Kagome asked, frowning slightly. "I slept for an entire week? Why didn't someone wake me up? And, where _are _we anyways?" Kagome bombarded Sango with questions. As Sango explained, the girl became more and more anxious.

"So let me get this straight," Kagome said once the other girl had finished, "Using the Shikon no Tama, I transported eight people, including myself, five hundred years into the _past_? I've been in a coma for a week…_and _Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Doctor Kouga are out camping in the _forest_?"

_When she says it_, Sango thought, _it sounds a lot weirder than I imagined it to be._ There was a long silence between them as Kagome let the strange reality of the situation set in. The only plus of the whole ordeal (that she could see at least) was the fact that Inuyasha was alive and well and had, at least in this time, recovered from his strange infliction. Sighing, Sango let her head bump back against the wall. "It's hardly morning and I already feel swamped." After a moment, she heaved herself up, bracing herself on the wall. "Why don't you come and help me make some breakfast Kagome, I'm sure you're hungry."

As if on cue, Kagome's stomach grumbled loudly, much to her discomfort. Kagome smiled, a rosy blush coloring her all-too-pale cheeks as she took Sango's outstretched hand and hauled herself up as well. "So Sango," She said in an impish voice, "I see you and Miroku got comfy." Kagome noticed a slight reddening of Sango's ears as the girl retorted, "I have no idea what you're talking about Kagome." Clearing her throat, the older girl went to the storage room to retrieve breakfast supplies, trying to hide the smile that played across her features.

The cold water that coursed around Inuyasha's bare ankles came as a wakeup call from whatever half-asleep reality he had been suspended in. It was barely morning, the sun not yet reaching far enough into the trees to warm his freezing shoulders, but just so that they could shed small areas of warmth that caressed his exposed back and made him shiver in delight and agony when they vanished to another spot.

The water eddied softly around him, running lines through his reflection. He ran a hand through his face in the water, sending the colors streak away from him, contorting his features. His ears had returned with the morning sun, and so had his claws, but he was not sure if they were in fact welcome changes anymore. They now only seemed to remind him that he was a blemish; an impure being that befouled anything that he came in contact with.

Pulling his clothes over his wet legs, he cringed as the fabric stuck stubbornly to his legs. Deciding to dry his upper body before attempting to pull the rest of his clothing back on, he positioned himself carefully on a now sun-warmed rock, cushioning his head on a bundle of red haori. Lifting his arms to rest lightly on his forehead and shield his eyes from the sun, Inuyasha nodded off to sleep, warmed by the rays of the sun that ebbed higher in the clear blue sky.

_I wonder what Kagome's doing now…_

Kagome slid the paper screen door quietly behind her after checking one last time to make sure that the others were busy with the after-breakfast chores. Inhaling a deep breath of fresh air, she made her way out of the village, careful not to be spotted by the few townsfolk that were milling around, and out into the open clearing that separated the inhabitants from the forest.

A lone tree, bare of any leaves, bark gray and withered with age, protruded a distance into the clearing, like a hand reaching for something just beyond its grasp. Kagome set out into the forest, casting a glance over her shoulder to make sure no one was following her. Though there was no one there, a strange shiver went up her spine. She quickened her pace, determined to find Inuyasha before Sango and the others came after her.

_I'm coming Inuyasha,_ She thought urgently, _I'm finally coming! _

Inuyasha slowly came around; awaken by the unmistaken sound of footsteps through the dry undergrowth. He could tell with his heightened senses that the footsteps belonged not to Sesshomaru or Kouga, but a human. Sitting up, he let the red haori fall from beneath his head to pool like blood on the grass at the base of the large boulder he had been sleeping on.

A human hand brushed a particularly low-lying branch out of the way as the owner made her way out of the trees. Inuyasha's eyes widened and his heart stopped for a moment when he realized to whom that hand had belonged to.

Kagome stood before him, her long brown hair curling around her radiant face, eyes glinting in the mid-morning sun. There was an assortment of twigs and leaves lodged in her hair and on her clothes, giving her a wild, lustful look that filled him with a hot yearning that he had not felt for the longest time. "Kagome," he breathed, her name flowing over his tongue, a pleasurable but fleeting feeling. He could see her eyes start to shimmer with unshed tears, and he longed to wipe them from her dark eyes.

She stood there for a moment; unsure of what to do, caught off guard by the way he looked in the rays of sunlight that played across his face. He seemed different, more mature, and it had been a surprise to see that under his shirt he boasted a beautifully sculpted body. Unwanted tears, hot with desire and pain, welled up in her eyes, but instead of wiping them away, she lurched her body forward to fall into Inuyasha's arms.

He was stiff in her embrace, surprised for a second, but she felt him relax under her hands. His skin under her fingers felt smooth and soft, and as she ran her hand up his back, she felt him shiver with pleasure. As she did so, Inuyasha pulled her closer to him so that her face rested against his chest, inhaling the unique smell of his skin.

"Kagome," He said again, voice faltering slightly, "Kagome, I love you." He felt her hot tears on his bare skin, eyelashes gently tickling his chest. Her small body shuddered in his arms as a sob of relief and emotion ran through her. She lifted her gaze to meet his, amber melting into chocolate. Lifting a hesitant hand to her face, Inuyasha wiped away a tear, cupping her face in his hand as he did so.

Kagome smiled, a warm tendril of hope coursed through her from where Inuyasha's hand was touching her cheek. Though suddenly her voice seemed rusty, she managed to whisper back to him, "I missed you, Inuyasha." Before she leaned in to kiss him gently, hesitantly upon the mouth, savoring the taste of his lips against her own.

How long the two of them stayed that way, wrapped in each other's arms, neither could say, but when Kagome finally had the courage to tear herself away, remembering how worried her companions would be that she was missing, it was with regret that she could not stay longer. With a final soft kiss goodbye, she disappeared back into the trees, leaving Inuyasha wondering if the entire day had just been a very sweet dream.

Please, for my sake, review! I know, I sound like a nagging, selfish author, but the truth is, without feedback from my readers, I can't tell if you guys like how things are turning out, relate to the characters or can even stand reading my style of writing. So, please, if you could just take the five minutes or less required to hit that little button and review, I would be so grateful! Thank you, and until next time, sayonara.


	25. Will of the Wind

Okay, I am sooooo sorry about not updating! I hope you guys don't kill me! I've been pretty swamped lately, since I have a few big projects to finish which include school work, preparing (and finishing) for all those stupid state standardized tests and also getting ready to put on the school musical… bleh. It's a wonder I even got time to write! Thank you for all of the positive comments, please keep them up, I really appreciate it!

Recap:

How long the two of them stayed that way, wrapped in each other's arms, neither could say, but when Kagome finally had the courage to tear herself away, remembering how worried her companions would be that she was missing, it was with regret that she could not stay longer. With a final soft kiss goodbye, she disappeared back into the trees, leaving Inuyasha wondering if the entire day had just been a very sweet dream.

Chapter 25

Will of the Wind

Kagome sprinted back across the field in the direction of the village, hoping that Sango wouldn't strangle her because she had left so suddenly. _They probably think I passed out again…_ Kagome grimaced at the thought of facing a very pissed off Sango. She could already tell from the sounds of shouts from the village that they were definitely not very happy that she had run off without telling anyone.  
But as she arrived in the village, she sensed something strange, a tingling that went up and down her spine and made the hairs on the back of her slender neck stand on end. There was something terribly wrong going on and she had a feeling it didn't have anything to do with her disappearance. Shielding her eyes from the mid-afternoon sun, she scanned around her for Sango, Kikyo, Rin or Miroku.

"Kagome!" A shout resonated over the many frightened voices, "Kagome, over here!" Sango, followed by Kikyo and Miroku, jogged over to her. Her face was white and strained, and her voice as she lowered it, cracked slightly. "Kagome, have you seen Rin?" A little annoyed by the fact that the others hadn't realized that she had been gone, Kagome shook her head. Puzzled, she furrowed her brow slightly, "Why?"

Sitting down on an upturned rice barrel, Sango sighed, exhaustion shadowing her face. "She disappeared after you went out for a walk-don't look at me like that, I know where you went-and we haven't seen her since." Kagome looked away sheepishly, feeling childish.

"The young children in the village said that a beautiful woman with a maroon and white kimono and feathers in her hair came and led Rin away," Kikyo added softly. Kagome's frown deepened. "Rin was kidnapped? Why would someone do that?" the boards of the porch creaked in protest as Miroku sat down next to Sango. Kikyo opted to stand, but Kagome suddenly began to feel very tired. Overwhelmed, she herself sat, leaning her head on Sango's shoulder.

"The headman mentioned that over the past week or so since we arrived, other children have started to disappear just like Rin." Kikyo bit her cheek slightly, a habit she had acquired while going to law school. She would usually use the pain to keep her awake and studying, and it became sort of a comfort gesture, like how a child sucks his or her thumb. For some strange reason, Kikyo had the feeling this whole thing had something to do with _that man_. _Naraku_. Shaking the disturbing thought from her head, she excused herself, and went in to boil water for tea. _Maybe a little tea and rest will cure me of these outlandish ideas._

Kagura stroked the little girl's hair in a way that would appear to someone as affectionate. But there was no warmth in her smile, nor in her hands. She wondered, as she ran her hands through the soft tendrils, what Naraku had wanted with this specific girl. For that matter, why he had wanted Kagura to retrieve the little brat herself? _I am no messenger, _she thought as she lowered her delicate brow into a scowl, _you may be my creator but I am not your servant. _

"Um, Miss," The little girl's hair was fluttering in the wind, seemingly unfazed by the fact that she was flying, supported by a large, plume-like feather. "Where are we going?" She asked, her voice riddled with awe and curiosity. Kagura smiled frostily at the girl, "You'll see when we get there little one, you'll see." She held back her hand as she fought back the sudden urge to dig her long nails into the girl's scalp. _You'll see what awaits you, foolish child._

The man, his long curling hair hanging in chunks across his obscured face, watched as Kagura soared over the forest, little girl safely held on her kimono-laden lap. A small smile that could have easily been a sneer curled his face slightly as he fiddled with a hazy, blood-red sphere. Closing his hand slightly, he watched with satisfaction as Kagura flinched momentarily, putting her free hand to her chest. _That's right Kagura, come to me, come back to your heart. _

As darkness fell over the forest, a peaceful feeling began to ooze through the trees. It made Inuyasha uncomfortable, and he fidgeted, realizing that the normal sounds of the forest had stopped. There were no crickets tonight, nor owls or scavenging animals in the underbrush. Everything was quiet; distilled.

He wandered through the trees, treading softly on the fallen leaves, wincing as they crunched beneath his feet. The sound seemed to magnify and echo through the empty silence. As he walked, he thought of Kagome, her soft features in a bright smile, causing his heart to beat a little faster. It had seemed so surreal, his shambled world falling slowly into place. There she was, at the center of that world, a lighted beacon in a world of shadows.

"I wouldn't do that if I were-" _CRACK. _ Inuyasha felt a stinging pain in his forehead as he stumbled backwards, landing awkwardly on his backside. He squinted, putting a hand to his forehead to assess his injury. Looking around, wondering who had tried to warn him, his eyes fell on Kouga. The wolf demon was leaning lightly on a tree trunk, a smile that he was only halfheartedly trying to hide spread across his sordid features. Inuyasha scowled.

"Gee, thanks for the warning," He said sarcastically, realizing how stupid he must have looked. Kouga put a hand to his forehead in mock salute, "Anytime, dog-boy." Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha stood up, brushing off his haori. "Feh," He spat, glaring at Kouga. They both stood like that for a long time, staring each other down until at last Inuyasha tired of it. With one last scoff, he stalked off.

"Have fun kissing trees!" Kouga yelled after him.

"Oh yeah," He called, not bothering to turn around, "Kagome woke up. She wanted me to let you know, since she came to see me. I guess you weren't good enough for her to come visit personally, knowing how busy she is nowadays. Guess you'll see her around sometime…" _Ah, _he thought,_ revenge is sweet._

Kagura landed softly on the porch of a large mansion, her form casting a strange shadow on the rice paper walls. She led the girl inside a small room, telling her to wait there until she came back to retrieve her. Silently, she closed the door, not bothering to lock it; there was no need to worry that anyone could escape _his _clutches. Not even, she thought despondently, herself. With her job finished, she padded down the hallway to a larger room. Kneeling on the floor she whispered softly, "Naraku, I have another, what would you like me to do with her?"

The voice that emitted from the room was guttural and deep, and it sent shivers down the woman's spine, the hairs on her slender, porcelain neck stood on end. "I will take over from here, Kagura. Your task is complete." Bowing her head so low that her nose almost touched the floor, she watched as the door slid open slightly. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to calm her beating heart, she kept her head down, waiting for Naraku's footsteps. Only, there were no footsteps. He was not going anywhere.

Lifting her head slowly, fighting down the terror forcing itself up her throat, she looked at him. His cold eyes stared back at her, boring holes inside her mind. He reached a hand out and she flinched as his fingers touched her cheek. "Are you scared of me Kagura?" He asked, amusement lacing his voice. Kagura swallowed as he squatted down, his face now level with hers. His grip tightened on her face, long fingernails digging into delicate skin. His face upturned in a cold grin. "Good girl." Then he was gone.

Kagura collapsed in a heap as she heard his footsteps fade away into the night. She could taste the bile filling her mouth and smell the fear she was emitting in waves. A soft hand brushed her shoulder, and she winced, stiffening as small warm arms wrapped around one shoulder.

"Miss?" A tear ran down her cheek as the little girl tightened her grip. _Damn you Naraku. Damn you. _

I'm late again, this is too short of a chapter, and I don't deserve reviews, but If you enjoyed the chapter, please, feel free to make my horrendously depressing sucky-author day a whole lot better by reviewing.


	26. Searching for Meaning

I'm feeling the guilt, trust me, I am! It's just so hard to keep a nice reviewing schedule during finals and the end of the year bustle… I PROMISE **PROMISE** _PROMISE _to update more as soon as school gets out! I know you're probably totally pissed at me… sob I _try _though!

Recap:

Kagura collapsed in a heap as she heard his footsteps fade away into the night. She could taste the bile filling her mouth and smell the fear she was emitting in waves. A soft hand brushed her shoulder, and she winced, stiffening as small warm arms wrapped around one shoulder.

"Miss?" A tear ran down her cheek as the little girl tightened her grip. _Damn you Naraku. Damn you. _

Chapter 26

Searching for Meaning

Dedicated to:

Mew Popsicle, PD and KGIM, xXPlasticineXx, japanimechick616, Jessica Rabbit21, and all others who have kindly added me to their favorites! You guys rock my world!

Why things always turn out differently than you expect them to is one of the many mysteries of the world. Among them, why, when you finally have time to watch television, there's nothing on, and how your boss can always tell when you're slacking off, even when the person in the cubicle across from you never gets busted for it. It seems unfair, especially since the rest of the world appears to not suffer from such things. It's almost as if they have a higher meaning to look forward to and you're still stuck wondering what fast food restaurant you'll end up going to for lunch.

Inuyasha touched his forehead gingerly. The swelling had gone down, but his battle wound from his gallant fight with that damn tree was definitely going to leave a bruise. Leaning back against the tree, he unconsciously pulled at the grass beside him, thinking. He was worried about Kagome-no, not just about Kagome. He was worried about Sango, Miroku, and even _her_. It was strange having Kikyo in this world, so close to him, yet so distant. Their drifting lives had somehow jolted back together again, and Inuyasha wasn't sure yet exactly how he felt about the turn of events.

It wasn't just that their split had been so painful and abrupt, leaving a deep tear in his chest that seemed to reopen violently again every time it showed even the slightest signs that it was beginning to heal, but that Inuyasha hadn't really ever felt completely comfortable around Kikyo. Their relationship seemed to balance on a thin thread. It was always that Inuyasha had to try as hard as he could to keep that thread from fraying, to keep Kikyo always happy with him, that the love that was once there was lost in the effort. Looking back on it, how they had managed to last that long without that string breaking was quite a miracle. But maybe _miracle _wouldn't be the best thing to call it.

Kagura led the girl back to her room, dreading each and every step she took, wincing as though it pained her. She kept her eyes straight ahead, never daring to look down at the poor creature, fearing its fate, its pain, might cause her to turn back. Kagura's conscience seemed to scream from every niche and corner of her body that what she was doing was so horrifically wrong that once it was done there was no way she could even think of herself as another living being. But then again, what did it matter? It wasn't as if she had anything to live for in the first place. She wasn't _human_, what did it matter?

As the two figures walked on, their shadows making strange shapes in the flickering lamplight, the smaller one stopped for an instant, then was yanked forwards again to continue its silent procession. Rin closed her eyes tightly, not caring that she tripped and stumbled blindly along the corridor. She clung to the woman's hand and tried to shake the image she had seen out of her mind. Before the woman had pulled her away she had caught a glimpse of the haggard, bent forms, and smelled the odor of decaying flesh as she had passed that door. Tears of fear boiled in her eyes and overflowed to course hotly down her cheeks. And with the tears came the memories.

flashback

_There was a scent in the air like nothing the girl had ever experienced before. It was of roasted, burnt meat, but there was another stench that seemed to add to the first. For a long time, that was all that she had wanted to do: sit in the pile of ashes, her eyes shut tightly. It was as if she was afraid that if she opened her eyes she would be forced to believe what she had tried so hard to tell herself wasn't true. _

_Soon, the stench was so overpowering that she began to splutter and gag. Opening her lids to rub the tears away, she felt the ash as it lodged itself in her eyes, a stinging piece of memory reminding her of all that had been lost. Immediately as she did so, she realized just what she had been smelling. A charred hand reaching out from under the remains of what looked to be a door frame was all that was distinguishable of what was once her home. _

_Shielding her stinging eyes from more ash, she squinted at the hand, detecting a slight shimmer. The girl dragged herself to it, crinkling her nose in disgust and ignoring the hot bile that had begun to fill her mouth. Her leg dragged uselessly behind her, the result of her fall as she had jumped from her window to escape the ravaging flames. There on that had was the melted remains of a ring. _

_The tears that had been purely to rid her eyes of the soot now began to flow for a different reason as she slipped her hand into the scorched one. As it crumbled into her fingers and filtered down into the rubble, Rin watched as the life she once knew disappeared. _

end flashback

Kagura led Rin back to her room, locking the door decisively as she went out. He would come for the girl, and then she would just be another fleeting memory, a shadow across her already dark days. She was just like all of the others, there was no reason for Kagura to get so upset about one little child, she had been able to do her job so well before, there was nothing different about this one. Kagura walked along the corridor and back to her room, thankful that she had no more tears to cry.

Sesshomaru folded the note that Kikyo had left for him neatly and slipped it into his pocket. His eyebrow twitched slightly, as if remembering how to frown, but he smoothed out his almost furrowed brow before he showed enough emotion to worry himself. Rin was missing. That _was _troubling news. Closing his eyes, he lifted his face to the sky, taking a deep breath, breathing in the scents of the evening. Rin was not among these smells. Unconsciously Sesshomaru unfolded the note in his pocket. With a sigh he made his way down to the river, settling himself by the water's edge. He trailed his hand in the crisp water, calmed by the small eddies that curled around his fingertips.

_Sesshomaru,_

_Find Inuyasha and Kouga and meet me at the tree on the edge of the forest at midnight. Rin is missing, we're leaving the village to search for her._

_-Kikyo_

What had happened, he wondered, to make Kikyo so worried about Rin? For that matter, why could he not sense her presence near him? It seemed as though her aura had completely vanished from the surrounding area. She hadn't just wandered off, something had _taken _her.

Inuyasha wasn't as sympathetic as Kikyo on the matter.

"It's your fault for not keeping an eye on that squirt. You shouldn't have let her wander off like that," He retorted when everyone had met by the tree. Sesshomaru coughed softly. "That would just be like you, wouldn't it? If you took the time to _look _or _listen _you would be able to tell that the girl's aura is completely gone." Inuyasha glared at his older brother. Obviously _that _hadn't crossed his mind.

"Why don't we use dog-boy here as a search-and-retrieval system?" Kouga asked, in a bored voice.

"Why don't we _kill _him and use him as bait for whatever thing took Sesshomaru's kiddo?" Inuyasha shot back maliciously. Kagome sighed and covered her eyes with her hand; clearly the only thing they were accomplishing was a way to get Inuyasha and Kouga in an insult fest. "Can we please _focus?_" she asked, exasperated. Sango glanced apologetically at the two men, then jerked a thumb towards Kagome, "I'm with her. Anyways," She added, "Maybe we can find someone who can send us back while we're searching for Rin."

No one asked where "back" was. They knew. Everyone was missing home. Okay, well, everyone with the exception of Sesshomaru. His take on the matter: anything is better than dealing with rabid fan girls and _Jaken_.

No one noticed Kikyo's face suddenly turn grim at the mention of "someone" who could send them home. Looking around at the tired, homesick faces, Kikyo wondered if it would be wise to mention what the old village healer had told her. _Not yet_, she thought, _I'm not ready yet. I can't… I **won't**._

The lock to the girl's door clicked open, the screen slid sideways, and a dark nothingness was left. An open void in which Rin wished wouldn't be filled. A cold sweat began to trickle down her back and her heart began to pound in her small chest. The air in the room began to press down on her until it seemed almost impossible to breath. As her breath shortened, her heart began to beat at an alarming rate. The feeling of the room had completely changed, and just when Rin thought she couldn't handle the horrid heaviness, a guttural voice wove its way through the stagnant air.

"Well, _this _is an interesting development, don't you agree Kanna?" Rin felt something leave her body before she fell heavily to the ground. The blackness devoured her.

YESSS! jumps up and down I am completely done with testing and I'm on summer break AND I'm going to Japan, yes, you heard me right, JAPAN, in August! YAY! Just because I'm so happy, I'm sure my good mood will rub off on you, willing you to take the time you usually wouldn't to review… uses sucky, author version of Jedi mind-trick **Author: **You will review **Readers: **Yeah…whatever. Until next time, Jya!


	27. Amidst the Clouded Souls

**STOP: Before you read any further, be sure to remember to check out my one-shot called A Tale of the Meiji! It was posted on July 8th or 9th depending on if you read it on or but please, go read it, tell me what you think! Now back to the originally scheduled chapter :**

You know, I seriously think whoever is up _there _really hates me. The day I go in to start writing this chapter, our computer crashes and we have to take it in… a week later, I have nothing done at all. Urgh…why _me!_ Please be thankful that I even updated as soon as I did. I know I promised you, but I can't exactly help that my computer crashed. ;;; (bows) Please don't hate me! Now that you are completely sick of hearing me gripe, here's the new chapter:

Recap:

The lock to the girl's door clicked open, the screen slid sideways, and a dark nothingness was left. An open void in which Rin wished wouldn't be filled. A cold sweat began to trickle down her back and her heart began to pound in her small chest. The air in the room began to press down on her until it seemed almost impossible to breath. As her breath shortened, her heart began to beat at an alarming rate. The feeling of the room had completely changed, and just when Rin thought she couldn't handle the horrid heaviness, a guttural voice wove its way through the stagnant air.

"Well, _this _is an interesting development, don't you agree Kanna?" Rin felt something leave her body before she fell heavily to the ground. The blackness devoured her.

Chapter 27

Amidst the Clouded Souls

Dedicated to,

AkeryouSesshoumarusMate, katluvsinu and UmeElisay (thanks for the adds!)

The pale girl, her short, whitened hair falling into her strangely dark eyes, held her mirror in cold, lifeless-looking fingertips. A pale form detached itself from the crumpled body lying on the floor. It quivered, as if unsure of how to use the evanescent time it had been so strangely pulled into. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared into the surface of the mirror, leaving only a slight ripple to show it had even been there at all. Kanna's finger's tightened briefly on the mirror as it glowed white hot for an instant, before letting it fall to the ground. The noise of the mirror as it clattered to the floor seemed muffled in the dank silence. Kanna looked slowing up at Naraku. Her lidded eyes gave her a sleepy look, and the monotonous tone of her voice seemed to lull her into a sort of hazy reality.

"The mirror…" She said dully, "It took away her life, and yet another still remains." Naraku raised an eyebrow as he surveyed the girl splayed out on the ground. "You may go now Kanna." The pale girl looked up at Naraku, a questioning look on her face. I say this because this is what Naraku saw, to a normal person, there would have seemed to be no change in her expression at all. "Leave the mirror here," He told her turning to look at the girl on the floor as Kanna left the room, a silent shadow in a multitude of darkness.

When the girl had gone, Naraku bent down and clasped onto the child's face with a cool, harsh hand. Turning it slightly so that he could examine it, he pulled back slightly, shocked. The girl's face was that of a sixteen year-old girl, stubborn, naïve, and young. She had aged, at most six or seven years, when she was expected to age all the way to her death. Naraku knew that he had taken the soul-life from her by way of Kanna's mirror, and he was sure it had been a complete soul, yet the girl had not aged a decade! Naraku raised his brow, slightly worried, yet more than anything, enthralled.

It is thought that with light there can be no darkness, but that notion should never have existed. It is a common analytical cliché to connect good and evil with light and dark, but if looked at in a different light, that conclusion seems obscure and strange. For with light, there will be shadow, and there is no way to tell there is dark without light to go beside it and compare…If then light is good and dark is evil, there would be no distinction between the two. What would be the conclusion? Good is light with shadow, and dark is darkness with only some light? Then the words "good" and "evil" couldn't be used, for in that matter there would be no pure thing; it would be a mix of light _and _dark. In the strange side that she was on, Kagura wondered if the clear, pure side that she had thought to have taken might indeed be much more complex between light and dark, good and evil… but somewhere in between.

Kagura knew that by this time the young girl she had so strangely connected with was gone by now, soul ripped from her body unceremoniously, unsuspecting into the cold grasp of her master. What the souls were used for, Kagura nor Kanna knew, and they knew better than to ask. Some things were best kept unknown, for if they were explained it would be too strange even to comprehend. It was easier to do a job if she didn't know the details. Kagura felt that her life was a mess of guesses, never resolved; each thought seeming to fray and disappear as the clues to why she lived became lost in the mist of confusion of her heart.

The seven travelers took a last, almost thoughtful look at the old village before heading away from the forest to the mountains beyond. They would search there first for Rin, and hopefully stumble across something or another to guide them back to their own time. It was a long shot, but the only shot that they had. They had no other leads, and each set out with their own feelings of expectations and hope; though underneath those a feeling of dread was curling up, poking it's malicious nose through and wrapping it's devilish tale, to tighten slowly around the traveler's weary hearts.

Each carried a sack of essentials-food, flint, a bedroll-that had been given to them by the headman. "Ration yourselves, that amount can last you a week at most." He had told them. Though he himself had never been far outside of his own province, he provided the travelers with a rough description of what lay ahead: barren, cold, snowy mountains. Hardly anyone went up there, especially not this early in the spring, and as the headman watched the group depart he heaved a sigh, wishing their fates to be not as cruel as they were destined to.

Leaning slightly on Sango for support, feeling still week after her long sleep, Kagome looked ahead towards the mountains. Blinking, she frowning slightly, squinting her eyes to see clearly. There was a hazy, almost purplish, grey fog curling strangely at the top of one of the higher peaks. As she watched, the fog seemed to swirl and collide, forming whirlpools and eddies, almost as if it was a permanent storm atop the mountain peak. "What _is _that?" She asked, her voice wavering with a strange emotion quite like fear. Sango glanced at Kagome, then the mountain, then stopped in her tracks. "Miroku…Inuyasha…Kikyo…Sesshomaru…" She said shakily, "You might want to see this."

Sesshomaru glanced back at the two girls. "It's that miasma on that peak isn't it? I sensed a strange presence in the aura of this area, I believe you may have just found it." Inuyasha cleared his throat and began to walk again, "Well thank you Obi-Wan Kenobi, next time we need advice on 'strange disturbances in the force' we'll consult you." He huffed, "Now can we get a move on it? I'd like to get home in the next _century_, thank you very much."

Miroku ran a hand through his hair, a stray strand casting shadows on his worn face. "I noticed a strange feeling too. I'm not sure if it's bad or good but…"

"We've got to keep going," Kikyo butt in harshly, "There's no time to debate it. If there's someone powerful enough to give off an aura like that than it certainly might be able to send us home." She paused, looking to each face. Kagome spoke up, "But-what if that someone isn't…well, you know, too welcoming?" Kikyo's face hardened, "We have no choice, we must take that chance."

"I'm with Kagome," Kouga's voice cut in, "This feels like a bad idea… that _miasma_, whatever it is, it doesn't look too inviting to me." Inuyasha growled, "Can we _go _now?"

It was strange, the way human beings valued life, and in the strangest of situations would do anything to keep themselves alive, no matter what the cost. It seemed so petty, if the entire world ended, what would you have left? Just a single, solitary life, which in an instant, would end. What would be the point? Naraku mused as he fingered Kanna's mirror, the soul inside exploring its new surroundings with the awkwardness of a fawn trying to stand on its spindly, new legs. It was indeed an entire soul and yet that girl still lay, alive but sleeping, on the floor beside him only slightly older. How had it happened? How could she have more than one soul? And most importantly, could he himself acquire another soul?

Naraku dipped his bony, gaunt fingertips into the mirror. The surface gave way like water, sending ripples dancing across the surface. As he did so, the soul dispersed into a haze of light only to be sucked in by the darkness of the mirror. As it compacted, it formed a tiny spherical object, a crystal droplet filled with the very essence of human existence. It broke the surface of the mirror as though it was a water drop falling backwards. The reflection, or perhaps the spatter of the drop as it fell, dissipated into the mirror. Naraku held the droplet gently with his thumb and forefinger, twirling it between the two. Naraku let it roll off his fingers into a shallow dish filled with other bead-like souls. It seemed to shine brighter, to pulse, among the others. Sneering slightly, the man, or whatever being he had become, picked the girl up in his arms, dully surprised at how light she was, and set her down onto the futon laid out on the floor. He thought it ironic that though the room itself was furnished for such things as sleeping, there was never before a need to use them. Usually his guests didn't stay that long.

As night fell softly over the mountains, blanketing them with the blinking firefly-light of the stars, the search party set up camp. As the others fell asleep, Sango gazed up at those stars, wondering if her mother, father, and brother were looking at the same stars from their window. Restless, she inched out of her sleeping bag and walked a little ways away from the still forms of her companions. Despite the situation they had fallen into, Sango felt strangely comfortable this night. The sounds of the night were not deafening, but they were definitely there, lulling her into a comfortable blanket of the darkness. It was not too quiet tonight, just perfect. Sango laid herself down, finding a patch of cushiony grass, and looked up at the sky, tracing from star to star with her fingertip.

Sango heard the sound of soft, reassuring footsteps behind her, the other persons breathing rhythmically in tune to her own. Miroku settled down beside her and silently intertwined his hand in hers, squeezing gently. A soft, wistful tear ran down her cheek to the grass under her head as a small trail of light whisked through the stars. As the two lips touched, she whished for a place called home.

On July 10th will be the one year mark of me updating on and the 1and one half year mark (approximately) of me updating on Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me this long and especially to all the reviewers and people who have added me to their favorites and the like. Thanks so much! Don't forget to leave a celebratory review and tell me what you think of the how the story is going on a general level and what you thought of the chapter! (I find ways to get you to review for everything don't I...I really am pathetic.)

Until next time,

Jya.


	28. Logical Insanity

Okay, I'm sorry I haven't updated, but I _did _warn you… I went to Japan and so I couldn't update yay Japan! I did start up school again as well, so I'm a little swamped at the moment…eeef. Also, I got a really depressing response from my one-shot story… hardly anyone even took the time to take a look. – sob – Was it really that **BAD?** And on a stranger note, you may notice that I do not have review responses in this chapter. This is because now authors are not allowed to leave responses to their readers (on fanfiction .net) I know, it sucks, but thank you all anyways for the awesome reviews!

Recap:

Sango heard the sound of soft, reassuring footsteps behind her, the other persons breathing rhythmically in tune to her own. Miroku settled down beside her and silently intertwined his hand in hers, squeezing gently. A soft, wistful tear ran down her cheek to the grass under her head as a small trail of light whisked through the stars. As the two lips touched, she wished for a place called home.

Chapter 28

Logical Insanity

Dedicated to

GreenDayLover and xdazedconfusionx (thanks for the adds!) and Kittencutie, Kotori Susayski, randomperson-chan, Randomnobody, Brandishot, AkeryouSesshoumarusMate who reviewed this chapter and/or my one-shot!

-I-

It wouldn't have been as bad as it had turned out to be climbing up that mountain except for the fact that it was windy. The cold was uncomfortable, and the thinning air made everyone a bit dizzy, but it was to be expected. What they weren't expecting was to have to literally crawl on their hands and knees in certain parts of the trail just to keep from being buffeted right off the darn mountain by the clinging, pulling claws of the relentless wind. Kouga, whose costume, though short, seemed to provide him with the warmth of the wolf-skins, was the least bothered by the cold. He informed them about the dangers of hypothermia, and of sudden changes of altitude. Mostly he talked just to keep himself and the others awake, alert, and attentive so no one was left behind, legs half frozen in the rugged mountain terrain. Inuyasha muttered about sudden changes of _attitude_ as he shivered uncomfortably.

Everyone else seemed to manage well enough, but Kouga wasn't the only one worried about hypothermia. Sango, who was wearing the two layers of her costume, kept glancing over at Kagome, noticing that her lips had begun to change into a chilly shade of purple-blue. Her school uniform wasn't exactly the best thing to be wearing in the cold weather.

As night fell on the second day, the party, now exhausted, bedded down. Miroku scouted out a place that would keep them warm and safe from snow drifts. He was the only one with satisfactory

(after Inuyasha had argued that he had slept in a tent before and Sesshomaru had added that it had been in the back yard and that he had made him sit with him the whole night because he was afraid of bears) experience in the art of survival because many of his childhood years were spent in the company of other poor children forced, like himself, to participate in the strange rituals of _Boy Scouts_.

As the shadows deepened and bled into each other, the sounds of the forest became muffled by the darkness and the snow, which by that time had become visibly thicker. The few trees and shrubs that were growing provided only little protection for the travelers, and it looked as though many of them were fighting their own battles to survive in the frigid climate, their branches gnarled and bare, reaching for the warmth of the disappearing sunlight.

Kagome, though nestled into her bedroll, began to shiver, and when she finally found sleep, it was fitful and light. She dreamt of a strange castle in the hazy miasma that seemed to stay far away no matter how far she walked. After waking suddenly, and recovering herself against the cold, she dreamt again, the second just as strange as the first. She dreamt of a young girl of about her age, her chocolate brown hair curving down to the small of her back. Her almond eyes holding the broken innocence of the remnants of childhood; she seemed so familiar, as though Kagome had met her somewhere before. The girl held out a hand to her, and she to the girl, only to pull back in surprise as the figure began to dissolve into flakes of pure white snow at the fingertips, blown away into the night.

When Kagome woke, she did not remember her dreams. Perhaps she had been not meant to remember them, or maybe it was the blinding brilliance of the early morning sun glistening off of the crystalline expanse of snow that wiped her memory of the night's messages. Sitting up, Kagome felt something fall from her shoulders; she turned in her bedroll to find a red overcoat lying behind her in the snow like a large puddle of blood, contrasting strangely with the purity of the snowy ground. Picking it up, Kagome realized that it was Inuyasha's haori. She smiled slightly, remembering the ice skating trip and how Inuyasha had hated the cold. A dull pain squeezed her heart as she realized how long ago that had seemed.

-II-

_You must choose between what you have come to believe, and the truth. _As they walked on, Kikyo glanced up to that foreboding fortress high above her in the grey sky, perched precariously on the mountain like a man in a hat that was too small for his head. She wondered what awaited them in that castle, and if it was really this Naraku who would indeed have all the answers they had been seeking. She thought this and Midoriko's words echoed in her head, a distant reminder of her own mission. The far away plea for some closure to her jumbled mess of memories and emotions lying settled as the snow at the bottom of a snow globe before it is turned upside-down and into chaos.

What did it all mean? Midoriko's prophesy, Naraku, the stolen soul, the kidnapped Rin … what could they all have in common? She tried to lay it out in her head like a jigsaw puzzle, thinking logically like she had been taught in law school. But logic relied on facts, and if the truth was not what she had come to believe than how could she rely even on the facts that she already had? She felt her jigsaw puzzle beginning to fall apart. She was back to square one-or rather piece one. One thing was for sure, there was definitely a logical reason to how they got sucked from the modern world and their own inner problems into the past and into this mess. There _had _to be.

Then a thought occurred to Kikyo. What if the very reason that they had been transported back to Sengoku Jidai, a time when myths and legends were as common as the nightly news, was to solve their problems without the _logic _of the modern world? Kikyo sighed, her head throbbing with the altitude. She really had to stop thinking so deep into these things.

-III-

Miroku was the first to see the curl of white tendrils over the snowy rocks. Shivering and tired, the traveler trudged toward the smoke to what they hoped was a safe encampment and explorers like themselves. They were all quite looking forward to speaking to someone else who might have information about the mysterious castle atop the mountain. As they drew nearer though, they realized that it was not a group of people, but rather a hot spring-a blessing in disguise-that had made the "smoke", which turned out to be steam. The weary trekkers thanked whatever they could (Inuyasha, not being the religious type thanked the monkey that was sitting atop one of the warm rocks. The monkey proceeded to screech and throw snow at him.) for their good fortune.

The hot spring trickled conveniently into a speckling of different small pools, and so the women took one pool and the men took another, as far away as humanely possible after Sango scolded them in advance if they decided to peak. Sesshomaru, not being the public-bathing type went off in search of a secluded pool for himself.

"Watch for rabid monkeys Fluffy, they may come to take back their kin!" Inuyasha shouted in the direction of Sesshomaru's pool, hoping one of the little buggers to a rock to his head. Sesshomaru decided not to mention that if he was kin to the monkeys, most likely Inuyasha was too.

Sango rested her head against a steam-warmed rock and inhaled what seemed like healing fumes dancing on the surface of the soothing water. She felt as if she were melting into a warm darkness that wrapped tendrils of calm around her like a blanket. "Ah, this…sure is…nice…" She slurred as she sunk deeper into the spring. The next thing she knew, Kagome's blurry face swam into view. "Sango! Sango, thank God you're awake." She said frantically, "Quick… What's you're name?"

"Sango…"

"Where do you live?"

"Uhn… Kagome, I'm fi-"

"What grade are you getting in math?"

"Hey!"

"Sorry, couldn't help myself."

-IV-

After her fainting experience, Sango decided it might be a good idea to just get some rest. She was tired, and after all, there was always the next morning to enjoy the benefits of the hot spring. She was just a little light headed tonight; nothing a little good old fashioned shut-eye couldn't cure. As she slipped into her clothes, she heard the crunch of snow behind her. Quietly, so as not to alert the attacker, if any, that she was there, she reached down to grab her worn boot. Swinging it silently, the whistling wind covering the _swish_ of the boot, she lodged it in the direction of the noise. A _ THUD _and a "What the-?" ensued and she knew she had hit her target.

Leaning over the familiar figure she said, "I hope you have a big bruise tomorrow. You deserve it for sneaking around while I was dressing, you hentai." She said frankly, hauling a whimpering Miroku to his feet. He was still rubbing his head as they walked. Where they were walking, wasn't clear, but it just felt natural, so they did it.

"Miroku?" Sango asked, her voice was serious, losing all of the sarcasm and laughter it had held just minutes before. Miroku raised his eyebrow in response. "When will we go home to Tokyo? I…" Her voice faltered, "I can't stand being here for much longer. I miss home too much." Tears threatened to fall from her eyes and her vision blurred but there was no claming blanket to wrap around her this time.

"You know we can't be the way we are now," Miroku said, his voice just as grave as her own, his eyes lowered to the snow, blue with the night, "I can't… you know that don't you?" He didn't expect an answer, and he knew that she understood, but he also felt that burning desire for the home that seemed so far away. It had been much too long. He raised his eyes to look at her again, feeling like a stake had been shoved through his heart as he looked at her forlorn face. "I love you," He said, and the stake went deeper, "I always will, no matter what." His eyes were the pleading ones now.

"Will you wait for me?" Sango asked, her usually supported voice falling away at the edges like a child. Miroku hugged her tightly, burying his face into her soft hair, "Forever."

-V-

The scene that enfolded on the vast blue-white expanse, the two forms embraced as one on the field of pureness and frigid cold, would have been something quite mind boggling. As the man and the woman held each other close, as if holding on to each other was the only way they knew how to live, they began to glow. Not the light that the snow reflected, cold and heartless, but a warm light that came from within their bodies, turning the snow and the sky and the moon to black and white. Then, as sudden as the light had appeared, it was gone, and with it the two lovers.

From her perch on a rock, stroking the head of a docile monkey, Midoriko smiled. "You have fulfilled your prophecy… but will the rest share your fate?"

-Chapter End Notes-

Yay! See, wasn't that a happy chapter? How much you wanna bet Midoriko's monkey was the one who threw a hissy fit at Inuyasha? Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought! Arigato gozaimasu!


	29. Fated

So, if anyone was so bored that they read my profile (on Fanfiction. net), they would know that I'm working on a new story (which hasn't been published yet) using the characters of Rurouni Kenshin. I also said that it would be up in September… okay, I lied. I hate working on two stories at the same time, especially since this one I'm working on has a lot of detail that I don't want to screw up. Anyways, I probably won't publish it until Simple and Clean is completed (don't worry, I promise not to rush the ending!), so sorry about that, just wanted to give everyone a heads up!

Also, thanks so much for the warm response from all of the people. Media Miner viewers, I think you need to be challenged a little because you guys have started to wimp out on telling me your opinions through reviews. I got a record high review count from though… so there's no excuse for you not to get on it too! ( ;

Recap:

The scene that enfolded on the vast blue-white expanse, the two forms embraced as one on the field of pureness and frigid cold, would have been something quite mind boggling. As the man and the woman held each other close, as if holding on to each other was the only way they knew how to live, they began to glow. Not the light that the snow reflected, cold and heartless, but a warm light that came from within their bodies, turning the snow and the sky and the moon to black and white. Then, as sudden as the light had appeared, it was gone, and with it the two lovers.

From her perch on a rock, stroking the head of a docile monkey, Midoriko smiled. "You have fulfilled your prophecy… but will the rest share your fate?"

Chapter 29

Fated

A big thank you to Brandtishot, and AkeryouSesshoumarusMate, Caity-Chan, who reviewed and to gossa and windgall who not only did that, but added me to their author alert lists!

-I-

Sesshomaru made his way down the rocky slope towards the glowing form of the very familiar woman. Settling himself beside the monkey, he raised an eyebrow, surveying the now empty clearing. "So spirit, I see you're more involved than I thought," He was not surprised to see that Midoriko was expecting him to be there. She smiled coyly, "Well, you are the ones who I have entrusted something very special, so I keep a watch on you just to be sure. I don't control what your fate is though-sadly I don't have that much control over my lovely little heroes- as you may have witness tonight." She petted the monkey absently, looking up to the sky. "You mustn't worry about your companions though, they are safe now," She stood to go.

"Where are they now?" Sesshomaru asked, his voice seemed unconcerned, as if he wasn't in the least bit curious at all. Midoriko cocked her head to one side, "Nosy nosy," the monkey trilled slightly, as if scolding the man, "That's for me to know…" Her voice echoed as she disappeared into the darkness. "That woman has too much time on her hands," Sesshomaru told the monkey as he leapt down off the rock. _This is going to be interesting to explain…_

-II-

"WHAT!" Inuyasha yelled, his voice echoing off the rocks and shaking the scraggly birds from their skeleton-tree havens. "You have got to be kidding me. You're so full of bull--"

"Sango and Miroku vanished?" Kagome cut Inuyasha off, her voice penetrated by an occasional shiver, "How?" Sesshomaru sighed, sifting a clawed hand through his snowy hair. "You'd better get Kikyo and Kouga too so that I don't have to explain this more than I have too." Anxious faces watched Sesshomaru as he recounted the tale of how the two were taken away in a sudden blast of light, and the conversation that followed.

"So Midoriko _does _have something that she needs us to do," Kikyo muttered loudly, looking around at the silent faces, she lidded her eyes in thought, "The question is what…" Inuyasha scowled and shifted slightly on the cold rock that he was perched. He watched Kagome trail a pale hand across the surface of the hot spring, sending ripples dancing across the surface. They were like those ripples. Making an indentation somewhere, but slowly disappearing to continue on into another time and space. None of them seemed to have a place to go, a certain thing that kept them going in their lives. They were all just drifting along. That is, until they came here to this strange muddled fantasy of a world.

The group, now dwindled to a mere five from eight, sat in silence; each person thinking their own thoughts, wondering why on earth they were chosen for such a strange fate. Kagome felt the cold begin to stab into her, prodding and pulling at her warmth until it began to drain slowly out of her body. Getting up quietly, she headed for the hot spring, hoping that the cold she felt was only physical. Letting her clothing puddle at her feet, she wrapped Inuyasha's haori around her bare skin, feeling a warm fire sprout and warm from beneath her skin . The crunch of snow behind her woke her from her dream-state.

She heard a sharp intake of breath and a muttered, "_Oh…" _ She looked over her shoulder, haori falling off to one side so her upper back was exposed to the chill air. Inuyasha stood there, his face in shocked surprise, a blush beginning to creep across his cheeks. "I-I'm sorry," He said hastily, "I didn't know you were here, I'll go…" He made to turn but Kagome felt a small sound form in the back of her throat. She thought that he might not have heard it, but after a second, he stopped.

Wrapping the haori around her, she ran to him, slipping over the icy surface, her bare feet not feeling the cold. Something like tears began to well up in her eyes and her voice caught in the back of her throat. Inuyasha's arms held her in a strong embrace, and she felt that if he let her go, she might just dissolve. "Don't disappear," She whispered into his chest, the fear that she had only just realized beginning to envelope her, "Don't disappear."

Inuyasha buried his face into her hair, "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with you." Kagome pulled away from him enough to lift the haori off of her shoulders. Inuyasha tugged her hands back down again, a tendril of fiery passion fighting to be let out. "You don't have to give me anything," He ran his hand against her too-pale face, "You're perfect just as you are." As a torrent of tears began to fall onto the snow, it began to melt. And as it melted, it formed a small puddle, every drop causing the surface to ripple. _We may be just ripples in the surface, but it's part of something much bigger…_Inuyasha thought to himself as he drew the girl closer to him.

As he felt her relax into his arms, he realized just how cold she was. "Kagome," He said urgently, handing her the long white under-haori he was wearing, "Put this on now over your other clothes, you're freezing. I'm going to go get Kouga, this isn't normal."

-III-

Wrapped in her bedroll and three layers of clothing (thanks to a now freezing Inuyasha), Kagome shivered and tossed fitfully in her sleep. Kikyo and Kouga sat up watching her, Inuyasha having failed at his midnight vigil, was sleeping curled up almost like a dog at her feet. As Kikyo watched her, she felt a growing unease as she realized that with each passing hour, the girl's aura had become brighter and brighter until by the false dawn she had begun to almost glow. Kikyo knew that someone who was experiencing any kind of thing that weakened their bodies would surely have a weakened aura, but hers just continued to grow.

Kouga sat next to Kikyo, feeling her anxiety, and the strangeness emanating from Kagome. Not having the powers that Kikyo now possessed, Kouga could not see how strangely Kagome really was changing, but he sensed something from her that was not only different, but bordering completely alien. It was as if it wasn't human anymore, something unearthly and unexplainable

Sesshomaru watched from a distance, sharp nose and hearing picking up almost to the same extent as Kikyo. "Could this be a gift, or a curse?" he wondered aloud. Kikyo's still form spoke quietly, "I was thinking the same thing…" She sighed, shifting her weight and standing, finding her balance after hours of sitting. She raised her head to survey the sky. "What if Midoriko's mission isn't just to help us find a way home. What if in the process we're supposed to have some higher calling?"

The two turned towards Kagome as she began to stir. Her eyes opening slightly, Kikyo watched as they focused and unfocused. She girl moaned slightly, clutching her side as though it was paining her. Kouga leaned towards her, callused hands removing her soft ones to examine the soft skin of her navel. There framed in porcelain, a sphere of rosy light emitted from her. Kouga frowned, motioning for Kikyo to take a look. "What _is _that?" Kouga asked, his voice tainted with concern.

Kikyo's brow furrowed as the words slipped from her mouth, "The Shikon no Tama…" Kouga looked up from Kagome's body in surprise, "What!" Sighing, Kikyo sat back, staring at the light. "The Shikon no Tama… Kagome's body, to protect the jewel, must have unconsciously fused it with her body." Kikyo glanced up at the castle atop the mountain, "It seems to be having some strange reaction to the miasma emitted by that place."

Standing, she picked up her bow, shouldering her quiver of arrows that had hardly been used. "I'm going to go relieve Inuyasha, he's been standing guard since she's been asleep." Kouga just nodded, his eyes still riveted on Kagome, waiting for any sign that she might break free of the icy hands that held her in what he hoped wasn't a deathly grip. "Kagome…" He whispered, stroking her waxen visage softly.

She looked so peaceful in sleep, the dreams that had shaken her small form earlier had ceased, Kouga not knowing if that was a good sign or a bad one. Her raven hair shimmered as it splayed gracefully out of her blankets, curling around her face like vines on an old house. But she seemed frozen, the tips of her hair frosted and her eyelashes held tiny snow flakes speckling them like glitter. She was the snow queen, condemned to sleep until someone woke to warm her, and even if they did, she might just melt away. Kouga felt the sudden urge to breathe life into her lifelessly cold face, to give color to her blue tinged cheeks.

He leaned down and leveled his face to hers, feeling her almost icy breath permeate the outside of his own lips. Her eyelids fluttered, opening slightly, and she let out a sound like a sigh that had long been held in the confines of her chest. "Inuyasha?" She asked, the slur in her voice assuring Kouga that she was barely awake. He put a finger to her mouth, "Shhh, I'm here." He felt a stab of something that he knew must be guilt, but he forced it back. Taking his hand away from her mouth, he cradled her head in his palm, kissing her softly on her chilly rose-petal lips. She retaliated with a kiss of her own and Kouga felt the warmth of longing run through his spine, scattering its blood red petals as it went. But with this warmth came the prick of blackened thorns upon his heart. He eased away from her slowly, setting her head back down gently so as to not wake her from her ethereal slumber.

He knew it wasn't right. There was something plainly wrong with him being with her, but yet he longed for her, and this hunger threatened to devour him. And then he realized, the reason dawned on him. The first person to really show him kindness, to talk to him honestly and sincerely, instead of objectively, it was Kagome. It seemed as if she never had any place that she needed to go to, no time limit or obligations. She was the person who had made him feel like he didn't have to worry about anything, just immersing himself in the moment. He wasn't attracted to her because he loved her, but more of that he felt that he needed to fill a niche that wasn't filled just yet. As he watched the girl's chest rise and fall in a steady motion, the color returning slowly to her pale face, he knew: there would come a time when that space in his heart would be filled, but he would wait until it found _him_.

Inuyasha watched quietly as Kouga held Kagome's milky hand, hers so small and fragile in his strong ones. He felt no anger, only a subtle aching sadness that was not for himself, but more for Kouga. He knew how it felt for the woman you loved to be loved by another man. He lowered his head, as if in respect for the man's lost hope, to focus his gaze on the ground.

"I think Kagome's ready to give you your shirt back now," Kouga said, turning to face Inuyasha. The younger man's face jerked upwards, glaring at Kouga in defense. "What the hell do you think you're doing, taking advantage of her like that you ed ?" Inuyasha said, raising his voice. He had never felt completely comfortable around the young doctor for one reason or another.

Inuyasha's eyes widened, "What the hell?" Kouga only smiled, the light that was beginning to overcome his body, drowning out and blurring him altogether. "I see what Midoriko meant now Inuyasha, our fate may be laid out for us," He said, voice beginning to disappear as well, "But there is still time to change your destiny." Inuyasha ran towards the light, feeling the odd sensation as though he might loose something special if he didn't, "What the hell are you talking about you , come back right now and explain it to me!"

"…Take care of Kagome for me," Kouga was all but gone now, "If I hear about you mistreating her, I'll…" Inuyasha never heard the rest of the sentence because Kouga's voice had become inaudible. He was gone. The light began to dim, and he ran for it, trying to find a way to pull Kouga back, before it flared brightly again. He shielded his eyes against the intense glare. A throaty laugh filled his ears, "I could think of something ironic to say here like, 'Don't walk towards the light, Inuyasha', but I won't. And don't expect any sappy speeches, Disney isn't paying me _that _much," Midoriko's mocking outline appeared against the light, "I'll leave you with this: follow the path that is set for you, other's destinies hang in the balance of your choices."

Falling to his knees on the icy ground, Inuyasha dug his nails into the snow, glaring at the image of the smiling man now burned into his head. The snow seemed to silence even his screaming thoughts.

-IV-

Because parts of this chapter may have seemed a little risqué (namely the hot spring scene), I feel it is my responsibility as a writer to confront the fact that I didn't mean for this chapter to be lemon-ish. I hope that you, as my readers, can understand the true beauty of loving someone so much that you _don't _have to do things that you wouldn't necessarily do for them to approve of you. Oh, and sorry for the swearing… if that's not your cup of tea. Anyways, I thought that you all deserved some Kagome/Inu-baka fluff and also some angsty Kagome/Kouga fluff-stuff as well(;

Ah! I just realized that September 11, 2005 is the anniversary of one year since I published Simple and Clean on Okies, now you all _have _to review. You have no choice, the anniversary chapter commands you!


	30. Sleeping Souls

Gulp. I know, I am an evil author of doom, and looking back, I hardly ever update. It's mostly because this is the end of the 1s quarter of school (gotta keep my grades up AND I have like a million end-of-quarter projects ;; ), Halloween, and the fact that I'm hosting a Japanese woman who I write to (I'm tactically avoiding using the words 'pen pal'). I'm too overbooked… BUT at least update (I know, you're saying…pft, update? When?) and don't just give up on a story. That's the most dissatisfying thing. If you're reading a really talented and insightful story, you get to the last chapter, realizing that it's only half done and the last time the person updated was like 2002. See, I totally understand breaks because of writer's block and the like, but to abandon a story, an especially good one, and _never _write it again… that's just cruel. I hope you didn't think I was being presumptuous about that…eh, don't hate me, just read on and hopefully review…

Recap:

"…Take care of Kagome for me," Kouga was all but gone now, "If I hear about you mistreating her, I'll…" Inuyasha never heard the rest of the sentence because Kouga's voice had become inaudible. He was gone. The light began to dim, and he ran for it, trying to find a way to pull Kouga back, before it flared brightly again. He shielded his eyes against the intense glare. A throaty laugh filled his ears, "I could think of something ironic to say here like, 'Don't walk towards the light, Inuyasha', but I won't. And don't expect any sappy speeches, Disney isn't paying me _that _much," Midoriko's mocking outline appeared against the light, "I'll leave you with this: follow the path that is set for you, other's destinies hang in the balance of your choices."

Falling to his knees on the icy ground, Inuyasha dug his nails into the snow, glaring at the image of the smiling man now burned into his head. The snow seemed to silence even his screaming thoughts.

Chapter 30

Sleeping Souls

Thank you to

Brandtishot, KittenCutie,

AkeryouSesshoumarusMate, alicia/kagome, and HyPeRAzNgUrL121, thanks for the positive responses and/or adds!

-I-

It was amazing the amount of time Rin had stayed asleep. But then again, you could hardly call the state she was in sleep. It almost seemed, despite the rhythmic breathing, that the pale form laid out on the futon was already dead; a lifeless doll, beautiful in passing. Naraku stroked her hair placidly, deep in thought. He mulled over the eerie ideas in his mind that had been brewing there since the incident with the girl's souls.

She was clearly not from Sengoku Jidai, but he didn't need anything besides a glance at the people she was traveling with to know that. It was painfully obvious in the worst of ways. If the reason she had somehow acquired two souls had something to do with her being from a different time, then he himself also must have two souls. Would obtaining a third soul from another time traveler help him to prolong his stay in the past indefinitely? Why had she aged if she had had two souls to begin with?

A daunting thought crossed his mind. What if the soul that he had taken from her had enabled her to live in the past? If his second soul was also taken away, would he become the almost lifeless body that the girl was now? If so, two things were evident: the second soul's aging effect must have been how long she could have lived in the past, which meant that now that she had completely lost her second soul, she lived on in the future, but not in the past. Though she existed in both the future _and _the past, she only truly _lived _in the future, causing her body to revert to a comatose state. This finding also made it deadly clear to Naraku that without a second soul, he would not be able to function in the past, leaving him no way to get back to the future once more. His collection of souls helped to stop the flow of time for what he knew now was his secondary soul, but how long could he hold out before the inevitable?

He smiled slightly, muttering to himself, "Sleeping Beauty must have had a time machine… If only a kiss would help me as well." A woman's face burned in the back of his mind, her prominent features leaving no room for mistake. "If only a kiss, Kikyo…"

-II-

Kikyo sneezed suddenly, losing her balance and stumbling sideways. Steadying herself, she felt a cold wind its way up her spine. Something felt wrong. In fact, the wrongness had been growing all day as they had kept a steady pace towards the castle in the miasma. It had been growing closer and closer, the wrongness turning her stomach into butterflies. At lease Kagome was okay, but then, it wasn't so satisfying because another member of their party had been lost.

Inuyasha hadn't said a word all day. It was as though he was in shock, though to be in shock about the loss of someone that didn't seem so close to him to begin with seemed a little strange. Kikyo knew Inuyasha really wasn't as irritated by Kouga as he let on, and it was hard to see him so down for he was usually so peacefully oblivious. It weighed heavily on her, her pessimistic nature normally balanced out by other's almost ignorant optimism.

Kagome, though hit hard by the loss of Kouga, somehow had acquired a new strength and resolve that fueled Kikyo's suspicion that the jewel inside of her body was reacting somehow to the castle in the miasma. Neither she, nor Sesshomaru had mentioned the jewel to Kagome or Inuyasha. It wasn't that they didn't want them to know, but, for Kikyo anyway, there was a strange feeling to let them find out on their own time. She suspected Midoriko's interference, and let the matter be. Sesshomaru must have felt the same way, for there was no word from him on the matter either.

Kikyo sighed, pulling a stray hair back into her loose ponytail, only for it to fall stubbornly back into place. It was hard to think logically anymore. The cold bit and numbed everyone's senses, and Kikyo had begun to loose what little hope she had that any of the things that happened is this alien world _could _be explained as the heat drained steadily out from under her feeble clothing. Kikyo longed to lie down and sleep forever, to forget everything and just float away, but the dark did not come. Instead the castle did.

It lay before them, larger than life, a menacing demon towering over them. The light should have been brighter and clearer up here, but as soon as they neared the outskirts of the castle, it dimmed, as if a sudden cloud had blotted it out. A barrier around the castle was visible now, an arching circle of dark light, shimmering menacingly. As they walked on, warily now, it started to dim, and another light began to shine.

Kagome gasped, and Kikyo looked back towards her to see her emitting the same light that she had spotted coming from her earlier; the light of the Shikon no Tama. Inuyasha started towards her, but stopped as the light flared out, "What the hell!" He shielded his eyes, almost pushed back by the force of the jewel. Kikyo squinted through the light, discerning the faint shape that was Kagome. Sesshomaru's head was bent to one side, a curtain of hair hiding his expression.

Kagome's feet left the ground, and her hair began to float around her, blocking chunks of the light so it shone through like a halo around her head. She looked like an angel ascending towards the sky, her clothes and hair billowing in the celestial wind. And then everything stopped. Kagome fell slightly, landing with her hip, legs bent underneath her. She looked surreally down at her palm, the slightly glowing jewel emitting small pink sparks, almost like a warm, friendly fire. No one knew quite what had happened until Sesshomaru noticed the barrier. Or, I should say, noticed that there _was _no barrier.

"The light has disappeared," He stated apathetically, a hand resting on his fur boa. Inuyasha scoffed from behind him, "Kagome just started floating and crap and all you have to say is that she stopped _glowing_?" Sesshomaru looked at his half-brother coldly. "I was referring to the _barrier_, Inuyasha." Inuyasha's ears went back slightly, showing his discomfort.

Choosing not to make a comment back at his brother, or maybe unable to find a good one, he focused his attention back at Kagome. "Are you alright?" He asked worriedly. She smiled warmly, taking a deep breath, "I think so," She answered, as if testing to see if her voice really worked. Inuyasha held out a hand to help her up, and she took it without complaint. Their eyes met warmly for a second before Kikyo interrupted.

"Kagome's body, and the jewel, must have purified the barrier," Her brow furrowed. "But if Kagome managed to set off that much energy just to _purify _the barrier, I hate to think what waits for us inside the castle. I don't exactly think that this person is good after all." The travelers glanced warily at the castle, the strange miasma-like fog making their view slightly hazy. Kagome shivered, "I have a bad feeling about this," She said, realizing as the words came out that she had pretty much quoted every horror movie in existence. She hated horror movies.

Kikyo's eyes locked on the castle entrance as the started to walk towards it. "You have no idea…" She muttered as they followed her through the gateway and into what might be the end of everything.

-Author Talk-

Do you hear the creepy music begin to play? Duhn duhn duhn duhn…. Tune in next time I get around to updating for chapter 31: Into the Miasma. And for your reading pleasure….

-Ultra Special Blah Blah of Doom-

Confused about the secondary soul concept? Here's a brief explanation:

Those who travel from one dimension (time, space, world, ect…) theoretically acquire a secondary soul. This soul is sort of like a travel visa, it lets the person stay in another dimension for a certain period of time (for example, Rin's time was about 7 or 8 years because of how much she aged). If the 'visa' runs out, the person's body, as a defense mechanism against death in one or both dimensions, reverts into an unconscious state similar to a coma.

Sometimes, if the original soul doesn't make a clean detachment from the first dimension (i.e. Inuyasha), the body is split (but most of the time not literally, ewww…). This causes the traveler to have a body in both dimensions at once. Usually one, or even both, are in a state of coma. It really gets messy when both fractions of the whole are awake… but that's a completely different concept that I'm not going to cover, at least not now anyways.

Until next time, thanks for reading and reviewing!


	31. Into the Miasma

Eh… sorry last chapter was short. I was having one of those uninspired and busy months that always seem to be leaving you in the dust. Please forgive my utter irresponsibility. Us authors are such reader abusers; I'm surprised you all don't have to go to therapy for all the things we put you through…I'm starting to wrap up Simple and Clean (sobs in corner) so this may or may not be one of the last episodes (wails can be heard)… I'm definitely going to miss writing this story, and I want to thank all of my readers, regardless of if you reviewed or not (though I like to get to know how different people see my story, so reviewers are extremely helpful). Thank you all! (bawls)

**Warning: **parts of this chapter contain heavy swearing. I apologize in advance…

Recap:

"Kagome's body, and the jewel, must have purified the barrier," Her brow furrowed. "But if Kagome managed to set off that much energy just to _purify _the barrier, I hate to think what waits for us inside the castle. I don't exactly think that this person is good after all." The travelers glanced warily at the castle, the strange miasma-like fog making their view slightly hazy. Kagome shivered, "I have a bad feeling about this," She said, realizing as the words came out that she had pretty much quoted every horror movie in existence. She hated horror movies.

Kikyo's eyes locked on the castle entrance as the started to walk towards it. "You have no idea…" She muttered as they followed her through the gateway and into what might be the end of everything.

Chapter 31

Into the Miasma

Thank you to

Brandtishot, Akeryou, and kittencutie14 who reviewed,

and to

Kagome 32 Shrine, cherrymoonblossoms2008, Mimiachu, and Misanthropic Tendencies for the adds

(I'm not sure If I had thanked you all yet… sorry if I've left anyone out! it's becoming hard to keep track of adds!)

-I-

Naraku was waiting for them, Kanna beside him, a faithful white lap dog. He was not smiling, nor was he frowning. In fact, he was completely expressionless. Kanna looked up at him and stated as if he hadn't already known it, "They're here, at the gate." Naraku blinked slowly, breathing in deeply and completely unconsciously preparing himself for something. "Yes, Kanna." He rested a hand on her shoulder for a moment before leaving her on the steps to walk towards the travelers. To someone who could not understand Naraku's relationship with his servants, this gesture might have seemed reassuring, almost fatherly. But to Kanna it was simply a warning: _Stay here, don't get in my way. _

As the party came closer, Naraku saw their forms appear, then solidify in the ever-present miasma. His eyes narrowed as he counted. There were only four. Had they not started out with eight, including the girl he held now? Where were the other three? He felt a tendril of doubt unfurl in his stomach. Things were not going as planned, someone else that he did not know had gotten involved. There was undoubtedly a third party. A third party with the ability to bend fate, and that could only mean trouble for Naraku.

As the faces of the five people became clear to one another, everyone's heart skipped a beat. Well, almost everyone. Two people's skipped two beats. Kikyo stiffened, and she felt the blood drain from her face. Standing before her was the same man who she had treated in the hospital not a year before. Hadn't he been on an apprenticeship in a law office in Osaka right after he was discharged? Hadn't he been telling the truth, or had it all been a façade to mask what he truly was? How could she have been so blind?

It was hard for Kikyo to accept that the person standing before her was anyone at all. If the only truth is that the universe is infinite, then there could be no dimension traveling because dimensions did not exist. There could not be truth, so any statements were lies. And how could someone tell a lie if they never existed to begin with. Kikyo felt her mind curl up weakly, naked and exposed and confused. She felt the weight of the past few days begin to fall on top of her like pieces of the sky. How could this be possible, and how could it happen to her?

Kagome felt Kikyo collapse to the ground beside her before she saw it. She had her eyes riveted on the man standing before them, as if they were frozen there. Icy, piercing purple eyes stared back, emotionlessly. And yet she felt a surge of fear jolt through her like a shockwave. She did not know the extent of why Kikyo had crumpled like she did, but Kagome knew that if it had anything to do with that man, it must have been his eyes. A stab of hatred warmed her frozen soul from somewhere deep within her.

The rest of him was strange and alien, but not like the world they were in now. For some reason, he didn't seem to fit here. His hair was long and dark, tendrils of it hanging around his face like roots of a tree grabbing for soil. His skin was much too light, so much so that it was almost translucent. His angular face made him even stranger looking. It wasn't just his appearance that scared and repelled Kagome. There was an aura about him that screamed to her that something was horribly wrong, that the pieces of this puzzle had been forced and twisted together. And then she felt a wave surging with power barely miss her ear.

The man seemed surprised for a moment, before moving at lightning speed to avoid the blow of Sesshomaru's upraised sword. A small cut opened on his cheek, sending a droplet of blood curving down his cheek. Kanna wasn't so lucky. Her eyes showed no emotion whatsoever as the wave slashed through her body. There was silence for a moment, then the sound of glass breaking, and a soft thud of a body on wood. A pool of blood held the remains of the girl, the white of her hair and dress soiled with red, mirror in shattered pieces beside her. Kagome screamed and collapsed to her knees next to Kikyo.

As tears began to stream down her face, Kagome whispered, "What have we done… what have we done…" her whispering growing louder until she was sobbing uncontrollably. She couldn't understand quite why she was crying, but she knew that it wasn't just because there was a dead child lying in front of her. No, she realized exactly what Kikyo must have been feeling. The reality hit her, and a ton of bricks would be an understatement of the situation at hand.

Sesshomaru sheathed his sword and noted with something close to indifference, "Maybe I acted too rashly…" Inuyasha glared at him, "Damn straight you did you bastard," Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow, "What the hell were you trying to pull. You _knew _that little girl was behind him." Sesshomaru fingered his sword and sighed. "Quite frankly Inuyasha, your complete idiocy is beginning to get on my nerves. It was obvious to anyone who was paying attention that he was using her as an indirect shield. He thought that we had too much guilt to kill her. He underestimated us."

The crunch of gravel sounded in the stale air surrounding the two brothers. "True, I wasn't expecting you to realize what I had in mind so fast, but no matter, it is no loss to me." At the sound of the man's cold voice, Kagome hurled herself towards him, blinded by her own tears. "You bastard!" landing in Inuyasha's arms as he intercepted her, she pounded on his chest, keeping her eyes away from the man's, "You _inhuman _piece of _shit_!"

The man seemed unfazed by Kagome's outburst, turning away from her and the two men to make his way to Kikyo. She was sitting on the ground, knees bent, and legs halfway under her, staring at her own hands as if they were melting away. There was a visible shiver that went through her body as the man touched her, and Kagome made an attempt to break free of Inuyasha, his strong arms holding her back. Inuyasha's ears perked to the almost noiseless clank of a sword being braced against its sheath.

"Kikyo," Another shudder went through the woman as he spoke her name. "Surprised that I would be here? You look… oh, how should I put this- a little overwhelmed." A slap resounded through the silence, and then Kikyo's hand fell from his cheek. "You lied to me, Naraku," Kikyo said as the rest of her companions stared at her in stunned silence, "What can I believe anymore? I _trusted _you. I trusted you against everything else, and this is what you do to me? How _could _you?" Her voice grew bitterly cold with her last question. She did not want an answer, she wanted a reason to explain her growing hate. Inuyasha and Kagome just wanted a reason to explain what the hell was going on and Sesshomaru was starting to wish for once that he was back in the real world. Jaken was nothing compared to this.

In the silence that followed, the whisper Kikyo emitted seemed more like a yell, "I _loved _you."

-II-

Kagura watched from behind the shoji screen as the trapped souls not yet converted into solid spheres flowed freely from the shattered mirror. She felt their confusion and sorrow as they searched for the body that had already rotted away. She wondered if she would be that way if she ever gained her freedom. Lost and confused, without a reason to stay, but no way to leave, searching for an answer that was always beyond her grasp. Naraku held her heart in his hands, yet he could not even sense how much it pained her. How much she wanted to be free, but knew that if she was it really wouldn't be freedom at all.

She watched Naraku as he bent over the woman on the ground, and for a moment, she wished she could be loved like he loved that woman. The woman he had obsessed about every day, and whispered her name in sleep when he thought no one could hear. Kagura hated Naraku, but she longed for his love just the same. Or it might not have been that at all, she might have just longed to be loved.

Her eyes found their way to Kanna's remains, the curling burn mark of a spider hardly visible on her back beneath her wounds. The scar and brand of their servitude, of the life they had left behind and the life that could never lie ahead of them. They once used to be sisters in a village close to the base of the mountain. One day the village was raided and pillaged, as was a frequent occurrence on the borders of enemy territory. All of the villagers were slaughtered, her sister Kanna and herself left with fatal wounds that festered as the demons closed in to devour them all. But from the demons came a man with flowing dark hair and deep eyes that seemed to freeze her soul. He gave them their lives in the form of stolen souls and they were sworn into servitude. Their wounds healed as the scar formed on their backs. As time passed, it seemed only to darken, as if reminding them of the lives that were taken to keep their own.

-III-

A confession was made; a life was taken, a heart broken, a love found and another twisted. Whatever had led these ragged and harried lives together seemed more like a mistake than anything else, and each knew there was no way to erase the fate that had brought them there. The riddles that bound them like chains to a manacle seemed to burn their flesh as it slowly ate away at their weakened souls. A hero amidst each of them might had been hiding, but it was those who chose the hardest road who would find that the title 'hero' means nothing in the game of life unless you can control how you choose to live it.

A simple answer to the simple question of the warriors of good and the devils of evil must seem easy enough, but who is to judge and by what comparison can we say one is better than another by the choices they make? Kagura knew that she could not be good, for she felt no sadness at all for the dead girl who used to be her sister. But there was a certain longing to be better than she was, and in that, a sense of good that no one could deny. So where did that place the in-betweens? That place, the grey region between white and black. The miasma that is entered by everyone, of whom no one is spared.

-End of Chapter Notes-

Yes, I know most of you are all "Ewww… Kagura loves Naraku…ewww". It _is _quite strange… but it just happened that way. Anyways, it's more like she's just in need of being loved Right, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review if you can, I'd love to hear from you!


	32. Love and War

Hey all! I hoped you all liked the last chapter! If you have a chance, after you're finished reading this one, check out my artwork (on Media Miner)! I just figured out that I can upload a certain amount of stuff before I have to pay… so yeah, if you're interested, check it out and let me know what you think! Also, you Fanfiction .net people better get a move on it, the Media Miner reviewers are whooping your butts!

Recap:

A simple answer to the simple question of the warriors of good and the devils of evil must seem easy enough, but who is to judge and by what comparison can we say one is better than another by the choices they make? Kagura knew that she could not be good, for she felt no sadness at all for the dead girl who used to be her sister. But there was a certain longing to be better than she was, and in that, a sense of good that no one could deny. So where did that place the in-betweens? That place, the grey region between white and black. The miasma that is entered by everyone, of whom no one is spared.

Chapter 32

Love and War

Thank you to

Kittencutie14, xYourLastChancex, xobabygurl4lifexo, and Princess-in-Training who reviewed

The scene before him played out like a soap opera on cocaine. Sesshomaru just sighed inwardly. He had enough experience with a highly caffeinated child that this literally seemed like child's play. And like a television show, the four actors seemed completely detached from the world as it watched, interested in only what was happening to them. This made it quite easy for Sesshomaru to slip by unnoticed and enter the castle alone.

Once inside, his senses screamed their warning at him as his nose was buffeted by the putrid smell of decaying flesh and fear. Almost blinded, he did not see the woman behind him who closed the shoji door with a snap. Nor did he turn when she spoke, just tilted his head slightly, the only thing that assured her that he had even heard.

"I know what you've come for," She purred softly, the blades of the concealed fan clinking faintly against each other like wind chimes, "But how bad do you want it?" Sesshomaru blinked slowly, "I don't know what you're talking about, but be warned woman, let me pass through this castle or you will die like the girl." The woman laughed quietly, and withdrew the fan from her kimono, letting it open, each slat chiming in turn. "You can ignore my words, but if you kill me how will you hope to find the girl before Naraku kills her?"

Sesshomaru smiled. _So his name is Naraku, is it?_ Women were so easily manipulated. He stepped aside gracefully as a blast of wind whizzed by, whistling menacingly in his ear. In one fluid motion he snapped the whip from his belt and sent it slithering through the air to wrap itself around the woman. He did not turn around to look at her. "Tell me where the girl is or you die here."

Kagura scowled deeply, her heart dropping. It was bad enough that she couldn't even distract one enemy, let alone that she was the one who was ultimately being distracted. Seeing no other way out of it, Kagura hissed through clenched teeth, "Fine, just get this thing off of me." Wriggling out of the whip, she froze as her assailant turned to look at her.

The two stood there for an eternal half-second as the wind whistled through the cold corridor. The woman was barefoot and clothed in a traditional kimono used for dances of the wind. _Fitting, _Sesshomaru thought. She caught his eyes and held them there, blood-red and amber meeting in a clash of auras. The feeling Kagura had been blocking out had finally taken over. These travelers did not belong here. There was a wrongness about them, a wrongness that tinged her heart whenever she looked into Naraku's eyes. Something deep within her, its dormancy too prolonged, began to wake.

Casting her eyes down, she felt the man's eyes still boring into her. "She is in the last room down the corridor, but don't blame me when she's not what you were expecting. That is none of my concern." Her footsteps echoed along the corridor away from the man, and in her empty chest.

-II-

Naraku's cold eyes surveyed Kikyo, his features a wall of unchanging stone. The woman who penetrated his every thought, every action, stood before him for the taking, just in reach. There was no more love for another man; this desperate woman held an empty heart that filled with that fickle emotion called hate. He knew she would waver, and when she did he would be the one to catch her this time. There would be no escape.

"Kikyo," He said softly, the coldness almost gone from his voice, "Look at what I am now, what I have to give you: an entire world, ours for the taking. You know where your heart belongs, so choose the easy path, choose to live here with me and you'll never long for the life you left behind." Kikyo's body was slack and lenient as he pulled her up to face him. She looked into his eyes and he knew the lost look in hers was beginning to settle. A harsh voice cracked the moment.

"Get you're filthy hands off her you bastard!" Inuyasha growled as he advanced on Naraku. Letting Kikyo slump to the ground, Naraku faced the bristling young man. "You never knew what was good for you did you? How could you have appreciated a woman such as Kikyo? How could _dirt _like you love her?" Kagome watched in horror as hate began to boil from Inuyasha. And then she had a genius idea.

Naraku sneered at Inuyasha, a hand resting on Kikyo's shoulder. Inuyasha watched with malice as he gave her shoulder a slight squeeze. "I couldn't have such an unfit man be the one Kikyo ended up with, she deserved so much better, so I took it into my own hands to inform Kikyo in what would have eventually happened anyways." Kikyo's head snapped up, a look of horror on her face as she stared at Inuyasha.

"I guess all if fair in love and war."

His face slacked for a minute before a look of pure rage and hatred replaced it. Lashing out, his claws met flesh, and in a spray of blood he had dislodged Naraku's jaw from his skull. Naraku raised an eyebrow as they watched in horror as the skin began to meld back together again as if someone had pressed 'rewind'. "Now that's no way to act, now is it?" Naraku smiled slightly, "Now be a good boy and die!" Lashing out himself, his hand melding into a gruesome tentacle of flesh, Naraku pierced through Inuyasha's stomach. Inuyasha let out an anguished cry as the man pulled his appendage sharply from the boy's body. He felt hot blood as his hand went to the wound. Searing pain shot through his body as he collapsed on the ground.

He dazedly remembered the hands of a woman on his face before he lost all consciousness.

-III-

Kagome frantically shook Inuyasha calling his name. Everything seemed to dissipate around her as if it had truly been just an illusion. She was now in utter blackness, just Inuyasha and herself, her voice echoing in the void. "Come back to me! Don't die now, not yet… not ever…" her eyes stung as her tears fell, though she had thought there were no more tears to cry. For a moment she saw the view of the hospital room through the tear in the void, but it was gone as soon as it had come. A voice called out around her, softly at first, then crescendoing to a stinging roar.

"It is not your time Inuyasha," Kagome thought the voice, female if she wasn't mistaken, was oddly familiar, "The eyes of fate have not closed just yet." The voice began to fade as the scenery that she wished had been gone sharpened once again around her. Inuyasha groaned, opening an eye. "You're getting my shirt wet." He said, motioning with some effort at the dark splotches left by her tears. Kagome let out a gasp as he lifted himself from her hold and stood up unsteadily.

Beginning to make his way towards Naraku again, He stopped in horror at the scene before him. Kikyo stood, the bow and arrow that had lain on the ground now firmly clenched in her hands. It pointed unmistakably at Naraku. Her eyes had settled, and Naraku now knew that there was no more love left in those eyes for him. Trying to stall the woman from shooting the arrow that quivered as she kept the bowstring taught, he asked, "Why is it that you aim for my head, and not for my heart dear Kikyo?"

Kikyo answered through clenched teeth, "What would be the point _dear_ Naraku? You have no heart." At this Naraku chuckled as though he didn't have a weapon aimed at his head. And then a multitude of things happened at once. Kikyo let the arrow loose, Kagome screamed, and a blur came between Kikyo's arrow and Naraku. The wind swirled furiously, before suddenly dying out. Everything was deathly quite now as the dust settled.

Kagura lay gracefully on the ground, her hair loose from their bindings, Kikyo's arrow buried deep within her chest. She was smiling as tears welled in her eyes. She was looking up at Naraku; her eyes losing the unmistakable love that she had always known could never come to pass as she saw the emptiness within Naraku's own eyes. There was nothing for her and that was just the way it had always been. And in her dying moments, she did not whisper her words, or voice anything at all. No, she was savoring the feeling of freedom as the life seeped from her body and left entirely. There was no need for the love of her keeper when she was free from her cage.

In the commotion, Kagome had made her way to Inuyasha and felt her heart sink as she saw the wound in his stomach. It had not stopped bleeding and he leaned heavily on her for support. She heard his breathing becoming short and labored. She turned her face away as the woman she did not know was still.

Naraku, Kikyo, Inuyasha, and Kagome watched almost sadly as the woman's body disintegrated into tiny pink petals, blown away by the wind. Kagome thought she heard a whispered word as the wind brushed her cheeks, blowing her hair back from her tear streaked face. She did not hear what it had said, but a feeling of hope welled within her, despite her sadness, and the tears stopped fleeing from her desperate eyes.

The sound of a bow stringing taught again reached their ears as Kikyo raised her bow once more. And as she did so, a light from within her, shining through her skin like tears in paper, began to cover her body. She attempted to release the arrow from her bow but her fingers were lost in the light and as she disappeared, Kagome saw Kikyo smile slightly, as if she knew she had never meant to let the arrow go to begin with.

Far off in the distance at the base of the mountain, the wind whistled through a ravaged village that had been abandoned whispering 'freedom' to the flowers.

-End of Chapter Notes-

In writing this chapter I have come to realize that Kagura is my favorite character in this story, and I felt that she needed a happy ending… so I hope you can appreciate it, I didn't want to see it as me killing a character off. I thought of it as more of setting her free… right. On a different note, the review response was really sad from you fanfiction .net people! Thank you to the one person who did review. Please keep reviewing you guys, it really helps me to want to keep writing because I know people actually go in and read my story then… Anyways, to the people who did review, my heartfelt thanks to all of you! In a review someone asked if the story was done or not, but I just want to make it clear that I haven't finished yet, so don't worry!.


	33. Humanity Haunted

I'm so sorry I took so long to update! I had a lot of relatives coming and going during the holidays and then once I got back I was hit with reviewing for finals… at the moment I'm sick, so I finally have some time to write! One of my reviewers had an awesome word, so the word of the week for this week is now dubbed 'Marvelent'… Yay! You media miner people were really unresponsive last update… only one review. Did you hate it? Love it? I can't even tell anymore…;; anyways, thank you to those fanfiction .net people and my lone media miner reader who did review. Mediaminer readers, please check out my two newly posted art pieces on my account and tell me what you think! Thank you all for staying with me this far, review or not… I wholeheartedly appreciate all of your support!

Recap:

The sound of a bow stringing taught again reached their ears as Kikyo raised her bow once more. And as she did so, a light from within her, shining through her skin like tears in paper, began to cover her body. She attempted to release the arrow from her bow but her fingers were lost in the light and as she disappeared, Kagome saw Kikyo smile slightly, as if she knew she had never meant to let the arrow go to begin with.

Far off in the distance at the base of the mountain, the wind whistled through a ravaged village that had been abandoned whispering 'freedom' to the flowers.

Chapter 33

Humanity Haunted

Thanks to Akeryou, kittencutie14, and xobabygurl4lifexowho reviewed,

and to hime Miharu-san as well as any one else who added me (I can't keep track anymore!)!

-I-

At a time such as then, as the young woman floated away with the wind, and a loved one was lost to light, it would seem that even the cruelest, coldest human being would find something in his or her heart to melt the ice that surrounded it. Then again, since apparently Naraku had no heart, such hope was wasted on him. In fact, Kagome had begun to wonder if Naraku wasn't human at all, but some twisted demon residing in the shell of what was once a man. He obviously wasn't who he had been, his newfound demonic aura was proof enough of that, but she had hoped that deep within him something good, something even remotely _human_, might begin to wake. Unfortunately, Kagome had always been somewhat of an optimist, and her naïveté kept her from seeing that this manwas long past saving.

In the midst of all of this commotion, Naraku had watched serenely as if a screen of impenetrable glass stood before him and the oh-so-human emotions that seemed to flow from everyone around him. Kagura's heart became cold and solid in his hand, crumbling to dust as he squeezed it mercilessly. She wouldn't have died from Kikyo's arrow, for he held her heart in his own hands. That is, she wouldn't have died if he hadn't killed her himself, but the look in her eyes, so familiar to him, had had a strange effect on his mind. It was something that he had held deep within himself for such a long time that to see it reflected in hers filled him with burning rage. He could not live with the fact that something that he had created to be perfect would still hold that feeling that he himself tried so hard to be rid of. That emotion which only seemed to bring despair and loneliness, the curse of humanity that haunted him.

And then as he watched the last of the light fade from the spot where Kikyo had stood, wishing death on the person who wanted her most, he started to laugh. It dawned on him how useless he was, that he could not accomplish the only thing that he had wanted. The woman he worked so hard to steal away from the cruelty of reality, and the imperfection in himself, could not be cured. It would follow him no matter where he went, like a shadow that does not fade when you turn out the lights. And if he had given up his humanity to gain love, the one thing that defines humanity, then there was nothing left to live for.

Naraku felt the demonic power that had flooded through his body begin to ebb away like the tide, and as he did, he felt another power, an untainted power that seemed to hang in the air like a pure note breaking the stillness of the morning. It did not waver, but instead seemed to feed on the energy that he was letting go, and as it did, it became more clear and steady. Feeling a jolt of fear pierce his chest, he pulled back and the demonic power surrounded him again like a turtle in a shell. Naraku turned his gaze to the girl, who was staring at him with horror, and strangely, what looked almost like pity. Forcing the thought from his consciousness, Naraku focused on her. Sure enough, she was beginning to emit a strange ethereal light; different from his aura as well as the light that Kikyo had given off. He hadn't noticed merely because he hadn't looked, or maybe that was a part of her strange power. Nevertheless, he knew that whatever she possessed would not bode well for him. The girl must be stopped.

-II-

Kagome probably should have noticed the strange feeling uncurling in her stomach, a sensation that filled her slowly with an inner strength that seemed to tiptoe through her, raising her slightly higher with every beat of her heart. She should have noticed but she was too worried about Inuyasha. Feeling an ache in her chest, her eyes prickled with despair as she realized that she was truly alone. No one was here to shield her, to help her through the hard times. They had all left and she was by herself, naked in this void of hopelessness. But she wasn't helpless. This time she was going to have to do it herself. Setting Inuyasha down, she held her head slightly higher, maybe to convince Naraku that she wasn't done, not yet. Or maybe it was to convince herself of that.

Kneeling next to the wounded boy, she ripped off his white haori into strips, quickly binding them around his wound as she kept a watchful eye on Naraku. He was watching her as well, and she wondered what his dark eyes held. There was something in them, a remnant of the past that held his heart; a small piece of soul that had snagged and caught. She felt a deep sorrow in those eyes that had been used and twisted to the whim of the darkness that swallowed it.

Inuyasha was passing in and out of consciousness, his returns punctuated by a sharp intake of breath as he felt the pain once again, and then a quick stifling as he saw the look in Kagome's eyes. It was almost comical, how he tried to hide his pain a split-second too late; almost. Kagome, feeling each painful smile like a jab in the stomach, reached within herself.

Deep down, where she thought there should be darkness and calm, she felt a startling power that seemed to grow as she touched it. Drawing a small bit out, she gasped as her hand shimmered for a moment. As if she had rehearsed the movements endlessly, she touched her hand to the wound in Inuyasha's stomach and passed a jolt of power to him. His eyes closed slowly, and Kagome pulled her hand away in horror. _I… I killed him… _She thought numbly as she let her hand fall to the ground.

About to look away, she noticed that the blood on the bandages had stopped spreading, as though someone had put invisible walls around to stop it. Lifting the bandages gently so as not to aggravate the wound, Kagome held back a gasp. Beneath the strips of shirt, the wound had stopped bleeding and the skin started to bond together. Inuyasha's breath began to come in a steady, even pattern, and his eyes blinked open. "What'd I miss?" He yawned as he sat up. Kagome knew that something good was beginning to turn the wheels of fate.

A strange sensation in her side brought her back to reality. Her skin prickled as if it had been frozen and then had begun to thaw again. Putting a hand to her side, she pulled away in surprise. The feeling had dissipated and in her hand she felt a small spherical piece of smooth rock. Holding it up to her face she realized what had just happened. The Shikon no Tama that had been lost since her entrance into the other realm, the jewel that she was so sure she had left behind had instead fused with her body. Why it had reappeared at that moment though, was a mystery to her.

Kagome turned her head as Naraku's voice dripped venomously through the air, "It wasn't much use to heal him little girl, you should know that I'm just going to kill him anyways." Kagome stood, her legs trembling as they supported her weight. Her teeth began to chatter, but did not feel the cold. The shiver that went through her spine and the foreboding feeling those words seemed to poison her with were fear.

"Best get out of the way you silly girl," Naraku said nonchalantly, a strange expression on his face that seemed almost insane, "Before I slash you through as well!" Kagome let out a shout as Naraku's strange tentacle-like arm whipped out from within his sleeve. She crouched, trying to shield herself and Inuyasha from it. For a split second, time seemed to stop, and the entire courtyard was quiet. Then a strange sizzling sound could be heard and Kagome let out the stale air that she had been holding. When she looked up, a faint pearly shield screened Naraku from the girl.

When Kagome looked closer she could see that what used to be Naraku's arm was now a charred stump. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as the smell of burnt and rotted skin sent her eyes rolling momentarily back in her head. She swooned slightly trying to keep her balance. Naraku was rotting from the inside out…

-III-

Sesshomaru walked noiselessly into through, his sense of smell all but diminished. He scowled slightly, knowing that the loss was because of the putrid stench of long-dead bodies. What had caused their deaths, he could only guess. As he arrived at the room Kagura described, he felt something lift from deep within his chest. The odor of death did not permeate this room in particular. Sesshomaru realized that he had been worried. Shaking his head to clear it of such insane thoughts, he slid the door open.

Shock might have been the best word to describe what Sesshomaru felt next, but because he himself did not understand exactly what it was, it is quite hard to categorize it at all. The person laying on the futon in front of him had creamy, pale skin, punctuated by a delicate mouth, and set in a stubborn, almost childish chin. Her hair had once been tied up, but the ribbons now lay loosely twined between her dark mahogany hair, its strands curling around her face. Her eyes were closed, but she still breathed, as if she were sleeping. This girl-no, this woman- was undoubtedly Rin.

Lowering himself gracefully to one knee, Sesshomaru clasped her face in his hands. He almost let go in surprise to find that she was cold to the touch. Frowning, he shook her in a feeble attempt to wake her, but to no avail. Sesshomaru cushioned Rin's neck with a hand, and then slipped another behind her knees before gently lifting her. He did not know quite why he took so much care to do this, seeing as how she obviously would not wake up, but he did it just the same. As he did so, the yukata she wore (now almost obscenely too short for her) fell off of one shoulder to reveal the small curvature of her breasts. Suddenly, Sesshomaru felt hotness spread over his cheeks and he glanced away quickly.

Mentally scolding himself, he righted the robe and stood, wondering why on earth something as little as that could have caused him to flush. About to slide the door shut once more, this time on an empty room, Sesshomaru almost jumped as Rin moaned softly in her sleep. He looked down just in time to notice the expression she sometimes wore when she thought he wasn't looking, a lonely, sad sort of look as if she knew something tremendous that no one else could even hope to comprehend. Had she always looked so-mature when she did that?

Sesshomaru set off to find the rest of the travelers and Naraku, wondering how he was going to explain to Myoga about Rin, and deciding that it was just a trick of the dim lights that made him think these insane things.

-End of Chapter Notes-

hmmm... and the plot thickens. Please forgive my slow update, it really isn't going to become a habit, I promise! I'm sure most of you understand how the holiday season is! Please drop me a review and tell me what you think… this _will _be one of the last times you can because –sniffles- there aren't many chapters left! So, until next time then!


	34. Last Symphony

Wow. Just, wow. The response from the people this week was absolutely amazing. ELEVEN REVIEWS! UNHEARD OF! I applaud you all. Thank you also to my reviewer on as well  Thank you so very much, all of your comments were so warm, it really reminds me of one of the big reasons I post my stories. Ah, which comes to the explanation of why I haven't updated in a million years…-looks around guiltily for a corner to cower in- finals, then sickness, then second semester starting… it was all very harrowing… Oh yes, and the Numa Numa song is awesome. ;) (see how I skillfully avert the subject elsewhere) …

Recap:

Mentally scolding himself, he righted the robe and stood, wondering why on earth something as little as that could have caused him to flush. About to slide the door shut once more, this time on an empty room, Sesshomaru almost jumped as Rin moaned softly in her sleep. He looked down just in time to notice the expression she sometimes wore when she thought he wasn't looking, a lonely, sad sort of look as if she knew something tremendous that no one else could even hope to comprehend. Had she always looked so-mature when she did that?

Sesshomaru set off to find the rest of the travelers and Naraku, wondering how he was going to explain to Myoga about Rin, and deciding that it was just a trick of the dim lights that made him think these insane things.

Chapter 34

Last Symphony

Thank you to

Archerelf, my mother named me...i think , Akeryou, AngelEyes1223, xobabygurl4lifexo, PrincessAngel , Berserk619 and Kittencutie14 who reviewed… huggles for you all!

-I-

Kagome grimaced at Naraku's mottled flesh, forcing herself to keep her eyes on him. "I don't think you quite understand the situation," Kagome forced out, hoping Naraku wouldn't catch her bluff, "My shield is much stronger than any demonic aura you posses, and if you come near it…" She searched for something that made sense, and remembered a story Kikyo had told her when she was smaller about the Shikon no Tama…

_The jewel glistened in the sunlight and Kagome reached out to touch it gently in her cousin's palm. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kikyo asked her softly shifting the jewel in her hand. "Only priestesses with pure hearts could protect the jewel, and those who did hold that honor possessed enormous Miko powers. That's why it was so important for the protector of the jewel to be pure of heart, so that they could purify the evil from it and keep it from those who would use it for their own self gain."_

"…If you come near it, it won't just burn your other arm off, I'll make sure you are purified entirely." Her voice steadied and Kagome hoped that the yarn she was spinning wasn't just an invisible hope. Naraku chuckled and Kagome felt her heart start to sink into her stomach, "I see you've done your homework girl, but this power you speak of cannot be wielded by someone as pathetic as you." He laughed, but Kagome couldn't hear him, the hope inside her had escalated to a roaring wave in her ears. She stood stepping over Inuyasha's body and held the jewel between her palms, her hands pressed together in a sort of prayer. She smiled as warmth flowed back into her cheeks. "No, Naraku, I probably wouldn't be able to wield it the way I was before I met all of these people who came with me on this journey," She glanced back at Inuyasha before focusing stubbornly on Naraku, "But now, now I'm strong enough, and I'm _not _pathetic! And I know how cheesy and ridiculous this is going to sound, but I don't even care anymore, because people love me," She closed her eyes and shouted through her bubbling laughter, "and I love someone and you're not going to ruin this for me."

To both of their surprise, Great beams of light shot out from the center of the jewel, forcing their way through the slits in Kagome's fingers to whip her hair violently around her face. Naraku watched horrified as a transparent face appeared over Kagome's, Kikyo's unmistakable smile shone back at him before it dissolved in the holy light that illuminated his entire body. And as it touched his body, he felt a strange sensation as if every part of him was floating apart. He tried to clutch his fists in attempt to keep himself together, but the force was too much. Time seemed to slow for a moment before he completely dissolved into nothing. His last thought before he was gone echoed through oblivion… _Kikyo… I finally understand… it was love…_

-II-

Sesshomaru braced himself as a giant wave of power washed over the mansion. He felt its presence, a pure, untainted power like the ending chord of a massive collaboration of celestial instruments. For some reason, it made him feel warm and he had to force himself from letting his lips curve into a smile. And then he realized exactly what it was: love. This power that engulfed him like a plague was love, and as his life flashed before him, replaying like a black and white movie, Sesshomaru realized what exactly he had missed along the way. How he managed to evade it surprised the man, because, he realized, it was in his grasp all along.

He glanced down at the girl, to frown in surprise. She had somehow nestled against his chest, one hand resting on his collarbone, a small smile on her face. In that moment, all of the black and white movie seemed outdated, forgotten in the passage of time. What was the point in basing your entire outlook of love on the lack of it? He touched the girl's face hesitantly, as if he was afraid of rejection, and let his smile free from his control. He wasn't quite sure how exactly he felt, but he knew that there was all the time in the world to find that out.

He felt hands on his face, ethereal touch warming his skin. Midoriko stood before him, "I didn't think you would be able to do it," She told him frankly, smoothing out Rin's hair in a warm, motherly way. "Take care of her won't you? She's no girl anymore, but she's not quite a woman…" Sesshomaru nodded, suddenly understanding exactly what Midoriko's prophecy for him had been about. She brushed her lips against his forehead, "My child, you have grown with her as well…" She pulled back, smiling as the two were engulfed in a familiar light, vanishing from the dark world that had kept them hostage.

Midoriko exited the room and made for the courtyard, "Just two more, very intertwined prophesies to watch be fulfilled." She whispered, almost sadly, "and then the worlds will be righted. Be strong for me Kagome…"

-III-

Kagome collapsed onto the ground, fatigue ebbing the strength from her body. She felt warm hands pull her into a tight embrace. Inuyasha's hoarse voice whispered softly into her ear, tickling her ear, "Oh God Kagome, stay with me…" She turned her head, pressing her cheek to his, the only way for her to assure him that she was fine without completely blacking out. "…You scared me so much but… oh, Gods Kagome, you did it!" She tried to laugh, but tears came instead, tears of relief, sadness, happiness; she didn't even know anymore.

Inuyasha pulled her closer, and she buried her head into his warm, firm chest. She took a deep breath, letting it all wash over her as if she had been watching her journey from someone else's eyes. She was so young when she had started, caring only about everyone else around her, never stopping long enough to see how she was doing herself. Now she let her heart break of the fear of losing herself in her own emotions, and she savagely kissed Inuyasha with a strength she didn't even know she had.

He sat there, stunned at first, but gradually returned her fierce passion. They seemed to ebb together in a dance, the emotions playing a song just for them. Kagome wasn't the only one who had grown through it all. Inuyasha had loved, and lost, and loved again. Yet, this time, it was different. There was no tiptoeing around their feelings, as if they were afraid that recklessly abandoning their masks of superficiality might show something that scared each other, or for that matter, themselves.

Pulling back from Kagome's warm lips, he smiled at her, "I love you Kagome." She smiled back, her heart feeling like it would burst out of her chest, "I know Inuyasha," She sat back beside him and just watched. Gazing out at the view that spread out before her, like a map of her heart, or more accurately, a map of their journey, she sighed. "I love you too." And as the words left her lips, from the clouds that covered the sun, rain began to fall.

The two sat there, listening to the music of the rain, and the song of their hearts beating together, two separate entities in rhythm, but each different. The battle that had happen before them only moments before seemed like something that passed in a fleeting dream, a storm cloud that in the end brought something new and beautiful. And as the rain fell, the grass that had stopped growing so many months before, began to inch through the soil, newly cleansed, to break into the air. Like a movie on fast forward, vines circled the castle, flowers bloomed and the hillside that was covered in snow began to shimmer with color, a haven from the cold, blank snow.

The lovers felt a mother's embrace as they dissolved into the colors, a warm light engulfing their star crossed hearts. And when they were gone, Midoriko sat in the field of life and color and lifted her face to the rain as if challenging all the forces to work against them, because she knew those two could, and would, overcome all that challenged them. Running a hand over a bud, she helped it open, and smiled as it bloomed on its own. The powers of lust and evil and deceit were strong enough to bring Naraku to another world, yet love, and friendship, and knowing yourself were so much stronger that they engulfed the evil altogether. In two worlds that seemed lost in war and sorrow, eight people who found love and themselves in the process connected these worlds and lit a candle that did not flicker in the strong gale winds of destiny, but instead fought against it to clear a path in the dark.

End of Chapter Notes

Wow, that was an amazing experience... So, I bet you're all thinking, "oh no, it's over!" ha! Psyche! I have one more chapter, but then it_ will_ be over. No need to be sad though, I'm coming out with a new story as soon as this one is done, and I have another one in the making after that one. I'm not quite sure if they will be as long as this one is, but I'm confident that this upcoming one will use all of the improvement that I found while writing Simple and Clean. Looking back at chapter one, you'll see that it's actually quite a lot… -grimaces at how horrible first chapter was- okay… maybe _don't _look back at the first chapter and just take my word.


	35. Alpha's Omega

Wow, it's extremely hard to believe that this is actually the last chapter of Simple and Clean. I know that the minute I post this I'm going to start bawling my eyes out (okay, yes, I know I'm slightly more emotional than some, but still…). It's certainly been a long time coming, and though at times it has been a bumpy road, especially when it seemed that people were beginning to lost interest, it was really all worth it in the end. The thing that kept me writing was always the encouragement that I got from all of my reviewers and the knowledge that people were actually enjoying my story. Though I know not all of you will transfer with me as I start my next story, simply because many of you are Inuyasha fans first and foremost, I will be posting a new story, tentatively called "Ai, Yai Yai: A Modern Romantic Story" which is an Alternate Universe Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X (it has elements from both the OAVs and the Anime) Fic. If you enjoy the series (the mood leans towards the OAVs more because the anime was a little too happy for what I wanted to write about) and you liked the style in which I wrote this story (though my next will be a little more serious, it will still have humor, and yes, romance), I really encourage you to read it. Please keep supporting me and all of the other writers of Fanfiction .net and MediaMiner .org alike. Thank you so much for your overwhelming positive attitudes and encouragement. I couldn't have done it without you!

Recap:

The lovers felt a mother's embrace as they dissolved into the colors, a warm light engulfing their star crossed hearts. And when they were gone, Midoriko sat in the field of life and color and lifted her face to the rain as if challenging all the forces to work against them, because she knew those two could, and would, overcome all that challenged them. Running a hand over a bud, she helped it open, and smiled as it bloomed on its own. The powers of lust and evil and deceit were strong enough to bring Naraku to another world, yet love, and friendship, and knowing yourself were so much stronger that they engulfed the evil altogether. In two worlds that seemed lost in war and sorrow, eight people who found love and themselves in the process connected these worlds and lit a candle that did not flicker in the strong gale winds of destiny, but instead fought against it to clear a path in the dark.

Chapter 35

Alpha's Omega

Thanks to

gossa, InuYashaJunkie, Keiko Farwind, PrincessAngel, Akeryou, singerme5791, xobabygurl4lifexo

who reviewed ever so nicely

-I-

Midoriko sat back against her uncomfortable office chair, a small yellow, sticky-note clasped between her graceful fingers. Her loopy, almost cryptic writing was scrawled across it. It had taken her almost two hours to fish it out from all of the paper's that had been piling up on her desk since she had been gone. She breathed out in relief, tossing it into the trash and burying it for good. There were some times, she decided, best forgotten about.

Yet, she reconsidered; this was not one of those times. Fishing out the sticky note and taping it under her magnificently un-useful and extremely heavy crystal pyramid paper-weight (one of those, "thank you for 5 great years of service!" gifts); she nosed about until she discovered her cordless mouse from under a pile of used Starbucks double-shot cans. Putting her console on safe mode (she had gotten into the habit after the entire network had been infected by the latest virus), and she got out of her chair, wincing as it creaked. Immediately there was a fluster of moving chairs and papers as the rest of the workplace glared at her simultaneously, heads sticking comically out sideways from their cubicles. It seemed everyone she worked with just happened to have supersonic hearing and a superiority complex. She bit her lip to keep from saying something sarcastic, reminding herself that the only reason she even had this job was because neither heaven, nor hell wanted her, and the Tooth Fairy was fired because the tooth-dollar exchange had been dropping as of late. She ignored the Easter Bunny's furry glare, making her way towards the glass-walled office space that most of the worker's at G.O.D. (Governmentally Obscure Diplomacy) Corps. tried to avoid at all costs.

"I'm here to speak to Him, yadda yadda and such," She told the receptionist, her sarcasm escaping. The little elf looked down at his Blackberry pressing a few buttons and silencing it abruptly when it began playing a faintly familiar song that sounded suspiciously like the first words were "Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta…", before he looked back up at her. "I don't have any appointments for Him at this time," He informed her mildly. Midoriko rolled her eyes as she scoffed, "Well obviously, He didn't think I'd manage it," She said offhandly, shrugging, "but, of course, I did. I always do." She winked at the elf and let herself in the door, ignoring the elf's retorts of indignation about how she didn't have an appointment.

Closing the door in the elf's face, she took a seat in the comfy swivel chairs that occupied His office like large exotic tigers in a land of housecats. "When did _that _happen?" She motioned to the angry elf now miming furiously at her through the glass, "Or did he _come_ with a candy-cane up his butt?" God sighed as he shuffled a large, yet still quite orderly, Midoriko noticed, stack of papers. "What would you like Midoriko? And if it has anything to do with installing a cappuccino machine into your computer or bringing one of your poor assignments back to life, the answer is no." Midoriko pouted dramatically, "But I'm not over the 5-life limit yet," she whined theatrically, "Anyways, that's not why I came."

God raised an eyebrow and surveyed her curiously. She smiled happily as she announced, "I finished my assignment." She paused for a moment to enjoy the feeling then continued, "And I did it all on my own." God sighed again, "Fine, Midoriko, what would you like?" She surveyed her fingernails, picking at a hangnail momentarily (Midoriko was a chronic nail biter…) and said loftily, "That cappuccino machine is sounding pretty good about now… but I think I'll settle for a nice new office chair please." God nodded, scribbling something on a post-it note very similar to the one she had been just holding, "Give this to Barnaby and he'll make sure you get what you want." Barnaby was now pressed up against the glass like a mad gorilla. He peeled himself off as Midoriko left the office, running after her on his short legs, "The nerve of it all," He mumbled furiously under his breath as he waddled.

"Here you go," Midoriko chirped in a cheery tone as she handed Barnaby the sticky-note. He looked dejectedly at the piece of paper and began typing feverishly on his little Blackberry planner. "Your next assignment will be sent to you when the chair arrives," He told her venomously. Then he paused, as if pondering whether he should tell her the rest. Reluctantly he added, "Until then, please take a vacation."

Midoriko waltzed out past her cubicle-ridden co-workers, ignoring their icy stares as she plopped down contentedly in her chair. Leaning back in her uncomfortable desk chair, she closed her eyes, and sighed under her breath, "Just another day at the office." Smiling now, she wondering how her charges were faring back on earth and tried to decide between a romantic getaway to France or the sandy beached of the tropics.

-II-

It was a strange sensation, crossing through worlds, times, dimensions, as if your entire body was spread out, each particle ripping apart, then forming together into something that felt so different, yet not wrong at all. It felt different than the first time that Kagome had traveled through the worlds, for she did not rip open a hole at all, but instead seemed to sift through the tiny openings in the fabric of the dimensions as if she were millions of grains of sand. She gracefully formed anew on the other side, and as she did so, a blurry image began to form and solidify. Her body pressed against a hard plastic surface and her nose filled with the smell of sterilized air and clean bed sheets. She was back in the hospital room.

It felt, to the best of her knowledge, as if nothing in the least had changed from the way she left it. She glanced around wide-eyed at the other people in the room. Kikyo was blinking as if to clear her vision, her arms poised as if she had been grasping a bow and arrow. She dropped them suddenly and inhaled sharply. Sango and Miroku were next to her, their hands clasped tightly, and Koga was slumped against another one of the hospital chairs looking slightly uncomfortable, but nevertheless perfectly fine. There were two things that seemed strange to Kagome.

One, Sesshomaru was there, but instead of a young girl with him, a woman, her eyelids flickering in a light sleep lay in his arms. The other bothered her even more. Inuyasha was not one of the people in the room. She turned quickly, tears starting to well in her eyes before catching sight of him: he was sitting up in the hospital bed, looking slightly puzzled, his head cocked to the side in a silent question. Throwing her arms around him, she sniffed as she pressed her cheek against his chest as if to check if his heart was alive. Indeed, as she did so, his heart beat out a rhythmic song against her skin. "What happened?" She whispered softly.

"I was going to ask the same thing to you," Kikyo said sarcastically, brushing herself off as she watched Inuyasha put a hand around Kagome's frail shoulders. She was wearing a business suit, and there was no trace of dirt on her face. It seemed for the world as if the entire time they had been gone had never existed at all. Sesshomaru looked thoughtfully at the young woman, as if surprised that she hadn't disappeared yet, "I think we'd all like to know that…"

The door to the hospital room opened and the seven conscious inhabitants jumped slightly as if afraid that their secret would leak out with the open door. "Relax kiddies, it's just me," Midoriko said happily as she closed the door quietly behind her, "No doubt you're all wondering what in G.O.D.'s name just happened." She smiled as she pulled up a chair alongside Inuyasha's bed. "First of all, you're not all insane, it really did happen." A few sighs of relief were let out around the room, "But, now this is where it gets tricky, though everything happened, no time was actually spent in the world of Sengoku Jidai." Quizzical looks were exchanged, and glances at the young woman in Sesshomaru's arms were stolen. Midoriko continued despite these distractions, "Because there cannot be _different lengths _of _no _time, you all arrived, due to your souls completing themselves in theoretical terms, at the same time in this world. The events that took place were actually trapped in a fold of time between the world of Sengoku Jidai and your own, so anything you, or for that matter, Naraku, did, will not affect the flow of history."

Kagome looked up, her brown furrowed, "But what about Kagura and the other little girl?" Midoriko tapped her nose with a sly smile, "You don't miss anything. Kagura and Kanna, yes that was her name, were unfortunately trapped in the fold. Because of this, it is like they didn't exist." Kagome felt her heart grow slightly heavy, "That's horrible!" She said, shocked. Midoriko nodded her head sadly, "It sometimes happens. You may be comforted to know that though they never existed in that world, their souls will be reborn into another." Midoriko poured some hot water from the bedside table into a white mug and placed a tea bag into it, swishing it around for a while. "Undoubtedly, Sesshomaru, you also are wondering what it to become of Rin."

Six shocked pairs of eyes turned to the girl in Sesshomaru's arms. He nodded slightly, expression unchanging. "She will wake up and be as much alive as a normal human being, but she will not change back to the younger form she started with," Midoriko told him, her eyes watching his expression shape. He just nodded again, but the spirit saw something else that she had not seen before in his eyes. Softness had begun to warm his cold stare, and his hands seemed to cradle the girl in a gentle embrace. She bowed her head slightly and stood up gracefully, taking one last sip from her mug before placing it back down on the bedside table.

"You have all completed the destinies that I have set for you, but in the process, you have created your own fates. You were never supposed to have come back from this journey, but the bonds, whatever they may be, with the people in this room, are much stronger than the feeble strings of fate. I am sure that many more journeys are ahead of you, and that you will conquer them all."

-III-

The alarm clock on Kagome's bedside table rang incessantly, the clanging seemed to echo inside her head like a stubborn reminder of summer's end. She slammed her hand down on the button, dragging her heavy body out of bed like a corpse. The television was on, the voices muffled by the sounds of her door, but she knew what they were saying… something about the start of a new school year. She pulled on her uniform and ran a brush through her dark hair, pausing only for a moment to see if she was passable.

The knock at the door came as she was scarfing down a waffle chased with a glass of milk. "Coming," She forced out through a mouthful of waffle. Scooping up her backpack on her way to the door, she skidded across the wood floor. "Just a minute!" She called once again, almost choking on the last of the waffle as she crammed her shoes on. Panting slightly, she opened the door.

Kagome smiled, and the warm feeling she always got when she saw Inuyasha uncurled in her stomach. "Ready to go?" He asked her, and she nodded happily, noticing that he wasn't wearing his uniform at all, but a white shirt and red cargo pants. _Some things never change_, she thought to herself as she hopped on her bike. Inuyasha still could hardly ride his (She and Sango had decided to teach him to ride over the summer-there was still so much about just being a kid he didn't know), but he could manage.

She couldn't wait to see all of the friends she hadn't seen over the summer, and the teachers as well. Mr. Houchin had decided to retire early after becoming infatuated by traveling, and Miroku had taken up his job. He had promised Sango that he would wait until she had finished high school before going forward with their relationship, but Sango had made it clear that she was going to a university after graduating.

Kikyo had started her own law office, and in a strange twist of fate, had started dating Kouga. She was much to busy with her new job to visit, but she and Kagome often exchanged letters. Kouga had finished his internship, and for now had decided to stay on in the hospital for a while.

Sesshomaru had just released his new fall clothing line, called "Dance of the Wind", and in an interview with a prestigious magazine, he had been quoted as saying the theme of the line was "freedom." The bigger news from the fashion designer was the new woman who he had escorted to the runway debut of his line, and every event since. She was quite a mystery, and no one seemed to know who she was.

Inuyasha and Kagome were dating, and though her mother was doubtful, Inuyasha proved to be quite a bit more mature than he had originally seemed. The two hadn't decided what they would do when high school was done, but there was time before that, and like Midoriko had said, many more journeys to travel on the road of life.

-Author's Notes-

Well, I guess this will be my last hoorah for this series. Thank you all for everything, whether you were an obsessive reader or just happened to read this story every now and then. Looking back on the beginning of this story, I really think that like my characters, I've made quite a journey of my own. I hope that I can apply everything that I learned about myself while writing this series to my next one, and I wish above all else that somewhere in the deep recesses of this tangle of words that you found something new as well. Thank you all so very much.


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